Ascend
by Professor Nasus
Summary: "You want my honest opinion?" Nasus leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. His face was expressionless, stoic. "Stop your pursuit to kill the Radiant Dawn. It will do nothing but bring you pain in the end, and continue the cycle the Solari started when they committed genocide. Do you want that to happen?" Rated M for Violence
1. A New Beginning

Edit: the issue with the line breaks were fixed, sorry about that.

Disclaimer: I do not own (most) of the characters used in this fanfic; many of them belong to Riot Games.

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The unforgiving sun was especially bright over all of Mount Targon that day. Diana had to shield her eyes as she stepped out of her living quarters. Even the transition from her dimmed room to the shade of the concrete slab above pained her eyes. She spent a few moments here, blinking and contorting her face until she could see again. As she stepped out into the sunlight, however, she kept the hand above her eyes and squinted.

Diana half sprinted across the village, clutching a small collection of books to her chest. She passed several people on her way to the Elder's library, and, after a while, she noticed all of them were going in the same direction to the Solari temple. A few of them refused to move out of her way, forcing her to slow down to avoid them. Each time she said a small apology to which she was often returned with a hiss. Eventually one of them stopped her, grabbing her by the arm. Diana nearly tripped over her robes and dropped her books in an effort to catch herself. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered as she bent over, thinking she had run into the man by accident. When she straightened herself she was met with the stern, wrinkled face of her father. What few strands of silver hair he had left were carefully pressed against his head. Diana immediately cast her eyes wayward again.

"Diana, where do you think you're going?" he barked.

Diana quickly glanced up at him, then away again. "I just wanted to return these books before morning mass."

Her father gave a short, annoyed sigh. "The mass comes before everything, Diana, you shouldn't—" he stopped and clenched his jaw, thinking a moment. "What books are those, Solari texts?"

Diana nodded, but it was a lie. She held the astrology books close to her chest.

"Drop them off quickly, then come straight to the temple, understand?"

Diana nodded again.

"Today is an important day. I expect you to be there."

"Yes, Father," she replied, exasperated.

He released Diana's arm and continued with the crowd of people. Diana stood motionless, watching him until he had melted away with them. She sharply turned on her heel and continued her sprint to the library. She slowed herself only as she came to the top of the marble stairs and proceeded into the building with silent footfalls. Diana quickly glanced around the vast, open building; she could not resist the impulse to do so despite the mass gathering she had witnessed. She crept around the bookcases and made her way to the back wall. She crouched down to the bottom row of books, pulled a few out after thumbing through the selection, and replaced them with three of the four tomes she had brought with her. New astrology and astronomy books. Diana blew the dust off their faces, her lips manifesting into the faintest of smiles. She gathered them and pulled herself up with the bookcase.

Diana went back around the rows of bookcases to the middle of the library where a few long tables were placed. She sat and spread the books before her. She drummed her fingers on her cheek. "Which one to delve into first?" she whispered. Diana finally picked out an astrology book. She stacked the others in a pile next to her, save for a leather-bound book. She opened both selections next to each other with the leather bound book next to her writing hand. Here she pulled the charcoal pencil from the small loop of fabric on the inside cover and, after briefly looking at the notes she made on the front few pages, flipped to the last page she had written on.

Diana briefly paused and looked up. The library, like most of the public buildings in the village, had a circular opening in the roof to allow the "sun's glory" to be ever-present in everyday life. Diana gave a small laugh at this thought. The sun was an apparent, cruel being. How could it ever be excluded from life during the day? The design of the roof had only one benefit that Diana found worthy. On unclouded nights, the opening allowed for studying long into the night. Although Diana did this as often as she could, it was forbidden to be out and about an hour after the sun had set, except during special circumstances.

There were more than a few times that she could remember being caught outside her living quarters after the sun had set. The first few when she was a small child were punished with harsh words, but as the years progressed the punishments became more and more painful. She distinctly remembered one that happened three years before that to her seemed like yesterday. When she was thirteen, she snuck out of her living quarters about an hour before dawn. It was the middle of the Harrowing and the early morning sky was filled with a dark glow.

Diana had made it to a hilltop outside of the village, thinking she had not been followed. She still had to cover her eyes, but the fading darkness made the viewing much easier. As she gazed at the half-eclipsed sun in amazement, a village elder and an Iron Solari guard discovered her. She ran, and for this she was beaten across the legs with a whip; the Iron Solari held her down while the elder beat her and spat obscenities at the girl. The encounter left her bedridden for almost a week and dependent on others for necessities. The whip had bruised, welted, and in some places harshly tore her skin. Nothing was ever done to the elder or the guard; to the people, this was how heresy was dealt with. The gashes scarred over, but over time they faded and became almost unnoticeable.

Diana drew in a deep breath at the memory and held it in her chest a few moments as she ran her fingers across her eyes. She finally exhaled a short sigh and turned her eyes back to the table, opening the book she had picked out. She thumbed through the contents, found something of interest, and flipped to the desired page.

Before she had realized it, Diana had spent hours poring over the books she selected. She had gone back and forth between the table and bookshelf on the back wall more than a few times, and eventually decided to study there instead. She kept most of the books she had pulled stacked in a pile on the floor. A few of them were brimming with tiny page markers. By the change of light in the building, Diana could tell morning mass was over. It was possibly midday now, perhaps a bit later. To her, though, it was not much of a loss. She was never fond of the discussions and sermons held at mass; always raising the sun to be the one true power, and dismissing the moon as an evil being. How dare the moon take precious time away from the sun? Diana scoffed. She could care less that she had missed morning mass, especially with the sun as brutal as it was. In the back of her mind, however, she knew her father would not be pleased.

By dusk she had thumbed through at least a dozen books. Some she read the majority of the pages while others she skimmed over, their information redundant, archaic, or biased Solari text. She put these books away, leaving only the ones with page markers in them, three books she found intriguing, stacked in a pile. When she was satisfied with her selections, she gathered them up and quickly walked toward the front exit. She had made it to the archway before she was caught.

"Diana!"

She froze, her shoulders boxing against her frame.

"Diana, come here this instant!" her father roared, pointing to the ground with a shaking finger. When again she refused to move, he stomped his foot and came up the stairs after her at an alarming speed. Diana let out a half-shriek and quickly turned to run away, but she was caught by her hair, then by the arm. "What did I tell you?" he yelled, turning with his daughter and pulling her down the stairs. Diana tried to resist, dragging her feet on the ground. "You were supposed to come to mass! Where were you all day, here? Do you know how disgraceful that is?"

"I-I'm sorry I lost track of — Ow!"

"Yes, I'm sure you did." He grumbled lowly, yanking her off the last step when she refused to budge. One of the books in Diana's arm fell to the dirt, face up. It was an astrology book. Diana watched in horror as her father quickly snatched it and skimmed through the first few pages. His face started to turn red. "Dammit, Diana!" he yelled, throwing the book back down. He began to pull her to the Solari temple. "You and your damn moon! You're just like your mother, you never listen!"

Diana's eyes began to sting. "You never listen to me!" she countered, yanking her arm away.

She was quickly struck down at this accusation. "What you're doing is heresy." He replied, his voice calm. "Heretics need to be punished, Diana."

"But you don't _listen_," Diana repeated, pulling herself into a sitting position. "I only want the truth."

She received a sharp kick to the stomach, and she curled over again with a slight gurgling noise. "Do you know what happens to heretics, Diana?" She did not respond. She was too busy holding her stomach, figuratively and metaphorically. He kicked her again, and would have proceeded to do a third kick.

"Leave her alone," demanded a gentle, yet commanding voice.

The demand made her father's foot stop midstrike and he looked in the direction the voice had come from. His face immediately became expressionless and he took a slight bow. "Avatar of the Sun, please excuse me, I was only punishing this girl for—"

_Great, now the sun is going to punish me_, Diana thought.

"That will not be necessary," the Avatar replied, walking over to the two. Diana dared not move from her place. She stared up at the obscured figures through the veil of her platinum blonde hair.

"With all due respect, Avatar, this girl has studied practices against you," her father added. "She even missed your arrival today."

"I see," the other replied. "Go on, before the sun sets. I will deal with her myself." When Diana's father hesitated to leave, she again told him to leave and gave a dismissing motion of her hand. He finally relented and sulked off, looking behind him as he walked the dirt path to the living district. The Avatar waited, watching him warily until she felt the man was out of earshot.

She dug her shield and sword into the dirt and knelt, elbows perched on her knees. "My name is Leona. Are you alright?" At first Diana did not respond, not wanting to move from her submissive position. "I'm not really going to punish you, just relax. I'm here to help." Diana still hesitated to move for a few seconds, but eventually she slowly raised herself to sit. Leona smiled. It was unlike anything Diana had seen in a long time; so warm and gentle, so unlike the stern, harsh faces of the villagers.

The Avatar's eyes met with the pile of scattered books. She reached out for one that was spine-up in the dirt. It was the blank faced leather bound book. Diana made a slight retort as she realized which book she had picked up and reached out for it, but the other woman stopped her. "It's okay," she said without opening the book. She set it in front of Diana and proceeded to pick the others up, putting them on her knee and holding them in place there. "I just want to help you. Do you think you can walk?"

Diana looked down to the dirt, her head curling in. "I don't know," she answered, then quickly added, "I don't want to burden you, Avatar."

"Please," Leona said, pushing herself to her feet and extending her free hand. "Call me Leona." Diana stared at the outstretched hand, unsure whether to take it or stay put. "Come on, I'll take you home. No one is going to hurt you, I promise." Diana picked up her book with one hand and pulled herself up with Leona's help. She handed Diana her books then retrieved her shield and sword. "Now, which way do you live?"

Diana clutched her books tenderly to her body and pointed southeastward, the same direction her father had went. The two women started off in that direction and most of the walk to the living district was in silence. After some time, Leona curiously asked, "So you like astrology, huh?"

Diana shot her a quick glance. "'Like' is not the word I would use."

"So you love it then?"

Diana sighed, and a pressure in her chest eased a little. "It is my life," she replied. "Each day I read through books, observe the moon, the stars, apply theories, record my discoveries."

"Is that why you were punished?" Leona's voice was even and gentle. There were no hints of disdain in her words.

Diana nodded. "Among other things."

"Why? What's the harm in studying something?"

"I've done this for years," Diana explained. "The Solari revere the moon as the utmost source of evil, as if everything bad that happens in the world is the fault of the moon. I've tried for so long to prove them wrong." She paused, shaking her head. "But they won't listen." Diana stopped; Leona followed suit. "Have you heard of the Lunari?"

Leona's lips twisted slightly as she thought. "I think so, but I'm not very familiar with them. The Rakkor do not associate much with people and ideals outside their borders."

_She's from the Rakkor? Why is she so eager to defend instead of kill?_ "They were a cult of people completely culled from the earth because they were deemed inferior to the Solari in every way." Diana stated. Her gaze shifted wayward and she continued down the path. Leona hesitated a moment, her head tilted as she watched her. She finally caught back up with Diana. "There's something about the moon," Diana continued. "It's not like the sun. You can actually look at it without being punished. It's not hot. The night breeze is so cool and refreshing, it lives and it breathes." Diana shifted her gaze back to Leona, who was looking at her with a blank expression. Diana frowned. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

At this Leona's expression changed to apologetic. "No, not at all. I just find your points interesting."

Diana's brows furrowed and she looked down to her feet. "So, you're not like the others."

Leona shook her head. "My only purpose in life is to serve and protect my people, not to judge them for the choices they make." She watched Diana as they walked, but she made no attempt to respond to her. "No one is ever going to hurt you like that again."

Diana scoffed, a nerve within her struck. "Please, give me a break, Avatar." She quickened her pace a little. She was sore and beyond ready to rest.

Leona made a face and again caught up to her, placing a gauntlet-protected hand on her shoulder. "I'm being serious. They will do as I say."

Diana turned sharply, pushing the hand from her shoulder. "It does not matter if you're the Queen of Everything, they will still find reasons to punish me. They are not going to have the logic 'We're going to go against tradition because this new person showed up.'"

"What is your name?"

Diana was dumbfounded at the question. "Excuse me?"

"Your name. You never told me your name."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "My name is Diana." She turned and continued along the path.

"I promise, Diana!" Leona called out after her. "If anyone lays a hand on you, come tell me first! I'll deal with them."

Diana threw up a hand dismissively. She walked the rest of the way to the living quarters alone. The walk did not take long. When she arrived at her door on the edge of her building, she shoved her shoulder against it roughly to force it open. Diana entered and quickly closed the door, then, with some effort, fastened its iron bolt across the door frame. At times she wished she had never installed the bolt. Other times she was thankful the day's torment could not follow her inside.

She turned around and sighed happily at her tiny one-room hovel. A small bed was shoved against the back left corner and a shabby bookshelf perched beside it. A crude window was carved out of the stone wall on the wall directly across the bed. Under the window was a simple wooden desk and chair.

Diana went to the desk and set the books she picked out on its surface. She started to pull the chair out to sit down, but stopped and clenched her jaw. Despite her day-long studying, she felt hardly in the mood to continue after the encounter with her father and the Avatar. She pushed the chair back under the desk, went to the bookshelf and placed her journal in an empty slot on the top shelf. Each book had a number printed in white on the spine and were organized by numbers descending. With a sigh she turned her head to look out the window. "Forgive me, goddess, I cannot study tonight."

She changed out of her Solari robes into a long tunic and threw the robes into a wicker basket in the corner near the door. It hung slightly over the top of the basket and she made a face. She made mental a note to wash her robes tomorrow.

Diana was not able to sleep right away, still worked up from the day. Often times she would not rest until late into the night when the moon was overhead. Her head began to ache as she tossed and turned, thinking about the day, and particularly Leona. Who was this person, and why did she decide to inhibit tradition instead of spur it? Why, if she was the Solari's Sun, would she so easily be nondiscriminatory to someone who prayed to the moon? Diana rolled on her back, covering her face with her hands. "Why am I asking myself these questions? Why do I care?"

She turned on her stomach and rested her head on her arms, sighing into her mattress. As much as Diana hated to admit it, this woman intrigued her. But why? What was it about Leona that made her curious? _She's different_, she said to herself. She shook her head in her arms, her platinum hair smearing across her face. She turned her head slightly, enough to let one grey eye look out the window. The moon had risen into the night sky, bathing the room in pale light. A sense of calmness washed over Diana's body. Her head eased and she closed her eyes, dipping her head back into her arms. She muttered a quiet prayer before slipping into sleep.

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Once again, I hope you enjoyed this and if you did, feel free to leave a review (I do my best to read all of them), or if I make a mistake or something was unclear let me know so I can fix it. Any feedback I receive is very welcomed and honestly makes me want to continue writing. With that being said, I am also seeking a beta reader who is interested in beta reading the continuance of this and potentially any other League stories I start. If you would be interested in being a beta, please let me know.


	2. Star-crossed

Hello again, summoners. I really hope this chapter isn't too premature, but since I have the next few chapters already planned, I think I ended this one okay. That being said, I have planned that the next few chapters will be skipping a lot of time. Don't worry, you're not going to stumble into a chapter/paragraph and suddenly ten years have passed and Diana and Leona are married with children ( would be nice, though, right?). Instead I'm going to make time transitions as smooth as possible.

A lot of this chapter is dialogue and I am sincerely sorry for that, I know it can get boring.

Also be aware that I usually do NOT post chapters this fast. I have no idea why, I've been in a writing mood lately.

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When the sun poked its way through Diana's window the next morning, she responded with a disgruntled groan and rolled over to the wall, facing it. One of her arms was folded beneath her pillow, which she held parallel to her body. The other arm was thrown across her eyes. Minutes passed, and although she could still feel the death grip of sleep in her body, she was unable to continue her rest. She finally submitted, pushing herself up to sit on the bed. She threw a soft punch into her pillow and stretched, her muscles and tendons screaming to life and joints popping.

With a yawn she rose from her bed. Almost immediately she felt stiffness in her abdomen. Diana pulled her tunic up to discover what she had expected; bruises had formed across her skin. She pressed her fingers to her ribs gently and found them tender. She grimaced and let the tunic fall back down, brushing her fingers angrily through her hair.

This certainly was not the first time she had been marked by her actions, especially from her father, but what Diana failed to understand was why. What was she doing that was so wrong she had to be beaten for it? Why would her father, her closest blood-relative, punish instead of protect her? Diana knew deep down this was not how things were supposed to be. _Parents are supposed to protect their blood, not destroy it, _she said to herself, but then shook her head. Diana went over to her desk, pulled out the chair and sat with a hand to her head. "I'm being naïve." Her eyes shifted to the stack of books she had brought home. She pulled one from the collection and began to read through it.

About an hour or so later there was a knock on Diana's door. At first she tried to do her best to ignore it, but it came again much louder this time. She rubbed her eyes. _Maybe if I stay quiet, they will think I'm asleep and leave me alone._ This was wishful thinking. "Diana, open the door! You're not missing mass today!" Her father. "I know you're in there, open up!"

Diana sighed and rose from her chair. "I'm not decent!" she yelled back.

"Hurry up and get dressed!"

She rolled her eyes. Diana could hardly remember a time where she and her father spoke without yelling about one thing or another. She quickly changed into her last robe. She took the books on her desk and slid them beneath her bed so her father would not see them, then went to unbolt and open the door. Her father pulled her out into the streets before she could so much as get a word out. "Now you listen here, Diana," he began, and she immediately tuned him out. There was no sense in listening to the man; she heard the same lecture more times than she could count. It was always 'Do this, don't do that, pay attention during mass.' It made her sick to think of it.

"Do you hear me Diana?"

"Yes, Father," she replied automatically.

"I expect you to behave and to always attend mass from now on. The Avatar will be accompanying us."

_Leona…I'll see her again._

They were now outside the Solari temple. "The Avatar will not have time to deal with you or anyone today. Do not waste her time. Understand?" He stopped her and turned her so she faced him. "You look disgraceful. Why didn't you brush your hair or wash up before you came?"

"Why didn't you let me before we left?" she defended.

Her father gave a curt huff and continued up the stairs. Diana remained in her spot for a second, attempting to fix her hair with her fingers. Her father angrily called out for her and she hurried up the steps after him.

As she walked in, two Iron Solari half-heartedly greeted her at the archway to which she responded with a glare. She found her father sitting where he usually did, around the middle of the temple on the left side. Diana took a seat close to him, but it was a few spaces away. She took a quick glance around; it had been a very long time since she had attended mass. The temple was alive with chatter. Most if not all the village's residents had turned out for mass, even the more nonreligious ones. All of the elders were seated at the front of the temple on either side of a stone pillar, facing the villagers.

Behind them were several frescoes depicting the first Solari Avatar. They told his story from left to right, from receiving the gift of the sun's power, to the glory days of the Solari people, and finally, the purge of the Lunari. The last fresco she had always found difficult to view; it was incredibly detrimental to the ideals of the Solari in terms of battle, and the Avatar should have been the epitome of those themes. Instead, this fresco depicted a Solari "warrior" slaying members of the Lunari.

Her father glanced over and saw she was taking interest in the scenery. "I'm glad you came today," he said quietly as he leaned toward her. "Look at all these people; look at how devoted they are." Diana did not respond, her grey eyes fixed on the fresco. "The frescoes were restored last month. What do you think about them?"

All Diana could think was, _Where is Leona?_

The elders suddenly rose in unison and the chatter ceased. The villagers stood and turned to face the archway. Diana looked to her father, who was standing as well. He motioned for her to stand. When Diana stood and turned as everyone else had, she saw a third figure in the archway; the two Iron Solari were standing next to it.

"Bow your heads. The Radiant Dawn has arrived."

They all obeyed, Diana hesitantly so. She kept her eyes open and shifted them upwards when Leona walked past, but she was obscured by the guards accompanying her. She managed to get a quick look from her peripheral vision as Leona approached the pillar; she was not wearing the Solari armor, nor did she have the previous Avatar's prized weapon or shield. Instead, she had donned the traditional burgundy and gold Solari robes. Even as Leona took a place behind the pillar and the Iron Solari took a place next to her, the villagers remained still.

"Thank you. You may be seated." Leona's voice was strong and clear, despite it echoing slightly off the temple walls.

The villagers sat almost in unison. Diana sat on the edge of her seat, hands folded in her lap, eyes fixated on Leona. The light from the opening above seemed only to illuminate Leona's features; her vibrant hair seemed to shine like fire and her amber eyes stood out, even from a distance. When she tilted her head back to look up into the opening, the light illuminated her face. _She's stunning. Why can't I ever be so poised?_ Diana found herself lost in thought, but was quickly brought back with a quick jab to the side from her father. She suppressed a cry of pain and instead shot him a hateful look. She was met by an even nastier one.

"Pray," he spat quietly, then looked up towards the ceiling. Diana reluctantly complied.

A quiet rumble of words; the villagers were repeating the prayer Leona was giving. "…And may the sun always rise with us."

Diana heard her father sigh happily as the prayer concluded. "She's so well-spoken." Diana gave a slight shake of her head.

Mass drug on slowly into the morning, just as Diana remembered. She felt incredibly uneasy around so many people, and she could have spent her time doing more fruitful things. She kept her eyes fixated on Leona, not particularly paying attention her words or what the elders were saying, but instead watching her, remembering every feature of her face, her movements. Her father, who was none the wiser to her true intentions, gave her an awkward tap on the shoulder.

Mass ended in a similar way that it had begun. Everyone rose and Leona and the two guards were the first to exit, followed by the elders, then everyone else. As they were walking down the steps, Diana's father again grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her a little. "I'm proud of you." He said, and broke off to join a crowd of people. Diana stopped at the end of the stairs, a confused look on her face. Proud? What had she done? She merely showed up, not because she wanted to, but because her father brought her personally.

Diana briskly walked back to her room and retrieved her basketful of robes from the corner. She exited the living space and started down a path leading out of the village to a nearby stream. Many of the villagers were out and about now that mass was over, tending to their daily routines. They hardly paid her much attention and for this Diana was thankful. _Maybe I should attend mass more often,_ she thought. _Maybe it will curb suspicion. _Diana shook her head. _Too many people, too suffocating…But Leona will be there._

"Hey, Diana, wait up!"

Diana stopped and turned halfway around. Leona was running after her, away from a group of disgruntled guards. Leona finally caught up to her. She was panting for air, but a smile was plastered across her face nonetheless. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Diana turned with a shrug and continued to walk outside the village gates. "To the river, to wash my robes."

"Mind if I come with you?"

Diana threw a confused look at her. "Why would you want to watch me wash my clothes?"

Leona's head lowered and she pushed her fingers through the back of her hair. "I just wanted to go with you. You seem lonely."

Diana's lower jaw shifted a little. "I am only lonely because people force me to be. All I ever want is to be at peace with myself and my books."

"Was that a yes or a no?"

Diana again looked over to Leona. Her amber eyes were wide with curiosity. "Alright," Diana finally relented. She checked behind them to make sure they were not being followed by a pair of nosy guards. When she saw they were alone on the path, she asked, "Now, why did you really want to join me?"

Leona gave a small sigh; it was not exasperated, but instead it felt as though she was unsure of where to begin. "I heard a lot about you from the elders," she finally replied.

Diana's brow rose. It was more than likely biased. "What exactly did they tell you?"

"Well," Leona began, crossing her arms. "They tell me you're obsessed with the moon, but I could already tell you had an affinity for it." Leona looked over at her; Diana was watching her intently. "They also told me," she raised her right index finger to touch her jaw. "that you are a disgrace to the Solari and that not even repeated punishments can break you."

Diana responded with a simple, "And what do you think?"

"It doesn't matter what you are, or who you praise, you're still a person, right?"

"Try telling that to them."

"I told them I'd try to influence you to the Solari ways," When Leona said this, she nearly dropped her basket. She turned her head sharply and opened her mouth to begin to protest, but Leona immediately stopped her. "I said that so I could make sure no one hurt you. Why would anyone want to punish you with me around to do it myself?" Diana remained silent, her face unamused. "I mean, I'm not _really_ going to punish you, I just—"

"Why do you want to protect me?"

The sound of rushing water started to become steadily louder with each footstep. "I don't feel like I'm serving my purpose unless I protect something." Leona looked down. She kicked a pebble along as she walked.

Diana shifted the basket to her hip and drew in a deep breath, the scent of water and earth filling her nose. "Out of all the people you could have picked, you pick the one that throws Solari beliefs to the wind. Why?"

"Why is this such an issue?"

"Curiosity."

Leona again sighed. "Because you chose to throw those beliefs to the wind, and just for doing that, you're being punished for hardly a reason at all. Tell me, Diana," Leona stopped and, after a short delay, Diana did the same. "Does anyone in this village care about you? Do they do things with or for you, not because they have to, but because they want to? Don't you have any friends at all?"

Diana was slightly taken aback by the question. Her brows furrowed as she mulled the question over. "At one time I think I did, but that has been so long ago I can scarcely remember."

"See? I just want to help you." The two continued down the path. A couple of minutes were spent in silence and they reached the bank of the river when Leona decided to continue. Diana knelt on the bank and began to sort through her robes, removing their golden sashes and laying the robes on the dirt. "Believe it or not, I feel lonely here, too." She waited a moment to see if Diana would respond, but instead she began to dip one of her robes into the water. "Back at my village, I had a whole group of friends. We grew up together, fought together, did practically everything together." She paused a moment to sit down on a fallen tree. "My best friend and I, we were like the parents. I would be the strong one, always encouraging, always protecting them, and he would jump to their rescue."

"And why does this make you feel lonely?"

"At my Rite of Kor, I refused to kill my friend, so they sentenced me to death. Practically everyone I ever loved abandoned me for doing the one thing I knew." Leona cupped her hands together in her lap. "For the first time in my life, I was alone. I can't imagine what that must feel like for you."

Diana pulled the robe from the water and rolled it up to squeeze out the water. She then placed it inside the empty basket. "I don't like it, but I grew accustomed to it after a while."

"That's the biggest lie if I ever heard one."

Diana shot her a glare. "I enjoy my time alone with my books. I enjoy watching the moon and the stars by myself."

"But wouldn't it be better to have someone read with you, to watch the sky with you? I'm like you. All I want is for someone to understand."

"You're being ridiculous." She selected another robe. This one was slightly stained a dark crimson in some places and was covered in dirt. She dipped it into the water, scrubbing the fabric together to at least fade the stain.

Leona noticed the robe and tilted her head curiously. She stayed silent a moment, watching her with her head tilted. "How often do you get punished?" she finally asked.

Diana shrugged, pulling the robe up for inspection. There were still a few remnants of the stain on the garment. "Once, maybe twice a week. Three times if I'm lucky." She paused. "It's usually over trivial things; I stayed in the library too long, so I _must_ be a heretic. Caught outside after the sun sets? Oh no, Diana's a heretic." Diana pulled the robe up again and this time was satisfied. She rolled the robe up like she had done with the previous one. "No offense, but your people are very, very closed-minded."

"I promise that I will fix this one day." Leona said gently. She looked down, pushing her hair behind her ear as she did so. "I can't do it now, because the Solari still need to train me and hone my abilities," She paused, biting her lip. "But I promise that no one else will ever have to go through what you have again."

Diana looked over at her, her face expressionless. "Thank you." She washed another robe in silence. When she had finished with this one and began to dip her last robe into the water, she asked, "I'm assuming that is the reason you don't have your shield and sword, or your armor."

"Hmm?" Leona had drifted off into thought.

"Even though you're the Chosen of the Sun, you don't have your gear."

"Oh," Leona rested her chin in her palm. "Yeah, I have to wait for the shield and sword. Those get bestowed to me when I finish my training. The armor is mine though. I start training tomorrow."

Diana smirked. "So how are you supposed to have Solari influence over me without your keepsake weapons?"

Leona could not help but smile. "We're just pretending, remember? We're secretly friends."

_Friends_.

Diana looked over at Leona. "Alright, deal."

The two remained by the riverside long after Diana had finished with her clothes; she had even hung the robes on low hanging tree branches to let them dry a little before returning to the village. They sat on the riverbank for what seemed like hours, chatting about past experiences and sharing stories. When the light began to fade, Diana packed up her clothes and the two women started back for the village, continuing to chat all the while until they entered the gates. At that point both became stone-faced as they walked past the villagers. They were stopped a few times by the Iron Solari, but Leona dismissed them, claiming she was escorting the heretic home.

When they had reached Diana's door, Diana went inside to put her things down while Leona remained outside the open door. Diana peeked out of it with a confused face. "Are you going to stand there?"

"I thought you were going to shut the door on me."

"That would be rude," Diana responded, returning to the door frame and leaning on it. "Why would I do that?"

Leona suddenly lunged forward, embracing Diana in a hug. Diana let out a surprised squeal and started to squirm away, but found she was unable to due to Leona's strength. She was not crushing her, far from it, but the embrace itself, it was so nice and warm. She hesitantly returned the hug, her eyes peering over Leona's shoulder to see if anyone was watching and found that, thankfully, no one was in sight.

"Isn't hugging nice?" Leona said quietly.

Diana was silent a moment. Her brows furrowed slightly and she balled her hands against Leona's shoulder blades. "Yes. Yes it is."

They remained this way for a few moments before Leona finally pulled away. Leona smiled brightly at her. "I'll see you tomorrow after training, okay?" Diana nodded and she turned to walk away. Diana stayed in the door frame, watching her as she left. She finally turned into her room, closed the door behind her and leaned against it with a sigh.

_Gods, that smile is so warm._

Diana sighed to let the tension within her release, then went to her bookshelf and pulled her most recent journal from its place. She went to her desk, sat down, and began her work for the night. There were still countless stars to track and thousands of pages to read.

* * *

I want to thank you guys for the support you have given so far, I really do appreciate it. c: I am enjoying this so far and ombgeezus I have so many ideas beyond Diana's failed execution I wish I could tell you guys but I can'tttttt.

Oh, and I noticed I forgot to name my first chapter, so I did that. -w-


	3. Naught is the Sky

Ohhh my goshhhhh this chapter is so long. I think I combined two chapters together at least because I felt that one chapter was going to end far too short and I wanted to cover a bit more ground time wise.

So yeah, this does cover quite a bit of time and if it's weird to read I do apologize for that. Diana and Leona's relationship takes a good jump from the previous chapters but I hope you enjoy the chapter regardless.

* * *

The days slowly dragged on, and before either of them had realized it a month had passed since Leona's arrival. Diana and Leona slowly began to spend more and more time together, often in the late afternoon when she was finished with training. Oftentimes Diana would not speak a word to her; she would quietly read her books while Leona went on about her day or silently watched the people in the village. Sometimes, especially when it had grown late into the evening, Leona would ask her about her studies. Diana would close her book and spend lengthy amounts of time explaining whatever the avatar had inquired, and Leona would sit there, watching her with a smile across her face.

The elders had quickly taken notice of their relationship and were not satisfied by it, but could hardly do anything because neither of them were doing anything wrong. In fact, Diana had gone that entire month without receiving anything more than a few harsh words. Although the elders had expressed their concerns to Leona on more than one occasion, she brushed them off, saying that she was making slow but meaningful progress with Diana, turning her into a model Solari.

Quite contrary to this, however, Diana had found a new vigor when studying through the library. Through the game they played and Leona's protection, Diana felt much more confident in her search for clues about the Lunari. Eventually she established a routine; she would attend mass most mornings, do whatever she needed to afterwards, and then spend the rest of her time in the library until Leona arrived later that day. From here Diana would take whatever book she had chosen and followed Leona to wherever she decided to go.

There were some nights that Leona would stay with Diana long after the sun had set. Leona was, again, confronted and told she was to stop having any contact with Diana. Leona, however, being the free spirit she was, refused and skipped a training session. On this particular day, Leona spent every hour in the library with Diana.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Leona asked as she followed Diana around the bookcases.

Diana kept walking at a slow pace, looking at the woodwork of the bookshelves closely. She pulled a few of the books out of each shelf, looked in the holes they created, and then replaced the books. "Anything," she answered, looking up at the bookcase before her. "There's got to be Lunari texts in here somewhere. Give me a lift. I want to check the top of this bookshelf. "

Leona looked at her with a puzzled face. "So like a compartment or something?"

"Yeah. Come on, lift me up."

"I don't know, Diana," Leona said, complying and cupping her hands together. Diana grabbed the edge of the bookshelf, placed a foot in Leona's hands and pulled herself up. "Why would the Solari keep Lunari texts after the purge?" Diana did not respond for a moment. "See anything?"

"No." She slowly lowered herself with Leona's help. She moved on to another bookshelf. "That's just the thing. They wouldn't keep them."

"Okay, so what's your point?"

"They're hidden in here somewhere." Diana answered, dropping to the lowest row of books.

Leona's face dropped and she sat cross-legged on the floor by Diana. She propped and elbow on her leg and placed her chin in her hand. "How long ago was the purge?"

"About a century ago I guess." Diana shifted to stand on her knees, checking through the next row.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Diana," Leona began, pulling a book from the shelf and looking at its face. The Solari symbol had been imprinted on it. "But do you really think any piece of literature is going to survive that long?"

Diana's grey eyes shifted over to Leona; her face was expressionless. "I have to try. The Solari need to know they're not the only ones with a bountiful god."

Leona opened the book and skimmed through the first few pages. "Maybe we're not looking in the right place," she suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Look," Leona turned the book around so Diana could see its contents. "This one is folklore." Leona turned and pulled another book off the same shelf. She read its face and turned it around. "This one, too. We're looking for stuff about the purge, right?"

"And?"

"What if it's in the history section?" At this suggestion, Diana raised a brow. Leona sighed and ran a hand through her hair, stopping it halfway through. "I don't know, don't give me that look. I'm just trying to come up with some ideas. It's at least worth a shot, right?"

Diana leaned back to sit on her legs and crossed her arms across her chest. She was silent for a while, but just when Leona was about to plead her case once more, Diana raised herself up, grabbing Leona's wrist and pulling her up with her. "We have a lot of bookshelves to go over. We'd best not waste time." The girls smiled at each other, then dashed around the bookshelf to a different section of the library.

They spent hours in the middle section of the library; they had split up, one checking one bookshelf while the other rummaged through a different one. People came and went, not paying them much attention. Soon it was late in the afternoon. Leona had nearly given up after searching through shelf after shelf. She lie sprawled out on her stomach on the marble floor. "I'm so tired," she groaned, burying her head in her arms.

Diana glanced at her from over her shoulder, then went back to the bookshelf. "But you've barely done anything today."

"Maybe that's why I'm tired."

"A body at rest does stay at rest," Diana added, pulling yet another book off the shelf. "I think this is the last shelf."

"Thank gods." Leona grumbled.

"You poor soul," Diana said with a smirk. She turned from the shelf, walked to where Leona was lying and sat cross-legged next to her. She opened the book in her lap and flipped through the pages. Her grey eyes shot up from the page to look at Leona. "You brought this upon yourself, you know." Leona simply mumbled into her arms. "I promise, if we don't find anything after this bookshelf, we'll go—"As Diana turned the page, a whole section of the book slumped forward. "—home." It was obvious by the binding on the paper that the pages did not originally belong to the book. She carefully took the section out, placed the book by her side and thumbed through the pages of the section.

After a moment Leona took notice of Diana's sudden silence. She raised herself to rest on her forearms, looking curiously at her friend. "What did you find?"

Diana shook her head slightly, running her fingers beneath the semi-faded words. It appeared to her that at one point someone had tried to restore the words by writing over them in fresh ink. "I think…maybe it's a journal of some sort?" Diana shifted a little and Leona sat up next to her. "Listen to this," Diana struggled a moment to read the first line, the words badly scrawled on the paper. "'December 8th, Zeno is becoming relentless. I fear for his mental health as well as that of the Solari and my people.'"

Leona's brow raised and she took a closer look at the writing. "Zeno…that was the avatar before me."

"The Lunari avatar must have written these." Diana flipped a few pages carefully. The page she landed on had old but near-pristine notes written on the margins of the page. "'February 22nd, my brother has fallen desperately ill and I fear for his life. The Solari are becoming agitated, questioning the Lunari tribe and even their people. '" Diana paused, skimming down a few entries. "'March 1st, Zeno suffered a violent death, having practically thrown himself on his own sword.'" Diana felt Leona cringe next to her. She continued. "'I tried to save him from his frenzy, taking his keepsake sword and shield, but he ultimately died at my hands. The Solari are thirsty for blood, and I have fled with my people into the mountains.'" Diana looked over at her friend. "The Solari avatar went mad."

"But why?" Leona questioned. "And if this was written after they fled, how did it get back to the village?"

"Maybe they came back."

Leona examined the notes, and then pointed to the margins. "Someone had to have found this and brought it back here, and by the looks of it, it wasn't long ago, maybe a decade or so." Leona propped her elbow on her leg and rested her chin in her hand.

Diana shook her head in disbelief. "How…" She turned the page. There were a few more entries from the Lunari avatar, then suddenly the entries stopped. A few pages had been visibly ripped from the segment. The following pages were written in fresher ink, just like the margin notes. There were several astrological calculations, tiny diagrams scrawled with numbers and letters next to them. Some pages contained star charts and constellations. On one of the final pages of the section, there was a message scrawled hastily as if in a panic. Diana's brows furrowed; the writing seemed vaguely familiar.

Leona, again growing wary of Diana's silence, leaned forward to look into the girl's face. "What is it?"

Diana swallowed, trying to suppress the lump in her throat. Her grey eyes darted over the frantic, broken sentences. "I think…I think this is my mother's handwriting," she said quietly. Diana looked over at Leona, whose brows had furrowed. She looked back at the page. "'Found the temple, on the run from Solari elders, not safe anymore.'" Diana closed the section of the journal, looked down and brushed a hand through her hair. "Leo, can we go now?" she said with a light sigh.

"Yeah, sure," Leona replied hastily, pushing herself halfway up from the floor. She grabbed Diana's arm to help her up; Diana slipped the journal into the book she had found it in. She held it close to her chest and let Leona pull her up. Diana crossed both her arms across her chest, her eyes cast downward. Leona curiously tilted her head. "It's getting dark. Do you want me to take you home?"

Diana shook her head. "Can we go to the river first?"

Leona thought it was an odd request, but decided not to question it. "Sure, if that's what you want." They began to walk out of the library. When Leona was sure no one important was watching, she enclosed an arm around Diana's shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. This elicited a small smile across Diana's lips.

They traversed quietly out of the village gates to the river. By now the sun had set and the surrounding woods made the mountain darker. Diana broke off from Leona as they neared the bank, heading away from the water to dryer ground. Leona watched curiously from the bank as Diana lowered herself onto the ground, staring up at the night sky. "So…why are we here?"

"Have you ever just watched the stars?"

Leona made a face, still firm in her spot. "Well, not really," she finally replied. Diana motioned for Leona to join her.

"Come. Watch with me."

Leona hesitated a moment, but soon joined Diana. Their heads were close, their feet pointing in opposite directions. Leona folded her arms behind her head and sighed in contentment. It was a particularly clear night; the stars shone brightly and the moon was in its waxing gibbous phase, and was only obscured by the occasional cloud passing by. She tilted her head a little in her arms, staring at the incomplete orb. "Out of all the times I've been outside during the night," she began, "I don't think I've ever actually _looked_ at the moon."

Diana pointed to a group of stars. "See those?" She looked briefly over to the Solari. "That's the Ice Witch. And those over there, those are the Three Princesses of Freljord. They're most visible in the last half of the year."

Leona shifted her head so that she was looking at Diana. She was silent for a while as she pondered. Finally she asked, "What was your mother like?"

Diana audibly drew in a deep breath, but remained motionless otherwise. "I can barely remember," she answered, releasing the breath. "My father always told me she abandoned us, the Solari, and fled to Ionia."

"And what do you think?"

"Somehow I knew it wasn't true. She would never abandon me." Diana's fingers absently scratched at the face of the book she held on her stomach. "She used to take me out into the valleys on nights like this. She'd show me the constellations and sing to me, she taught me the phases of the moon." Diana's brows furrowed; her eyes stung and she could feel her pulse in her forehead. "And then one day she just vanished. Now when I sit outside and watch the night sky, it's like she's there somewhere, and I feel so at peace."

Leona halfway turned on her side, her body propped up by her elbow. "I'm very sorry, Diana." Diana only shook her head in response, her eyes never leaving the sky. Leona waited a moment to give Diana a chance to think, then added, "Do you think you'll find her one day?"

Diana was silent, save for another deep breath. She slowly raised herself to sit, then stood. "I'm not sure if I want to." She turned to Leona and extended a hand to pull her up. "We should go, it's getting late."

They walked back to the village in silence, but Diana's mind was alive with thought. She planned on spending the rest of the night poring over the journal entries and notes; whoever had last written in the journal, be it her mother or someone else, they knew where the Lunari temple was located.

They were stopped haflway to the living district by an elder and an Iron Solari making a final round throughout the village. Both girls were scolded, Leona more so than the other. Leona was led away by the elder; the Iron Solari escorted Diana home.

The next few days passed slowly with neither of them having much contact with the other; Diana was absorbed in the text she had found, and the elders had resolved to summon Leona to train for longer hours and more frequently.

* * *

Three months had since passed since Diana discovered the journal hidden in the library. The Harrowing had begun; cold winds rushed across the mountains and the occasional snowfall would slow life in the village to a crawl. The village, however, was more or less dead that week. The villagers kept in their living quarters as much as possible, only leaving to attend morning mass or do necessary things. They would hiss and scowl as they left their homes, cursing the moon.

In the months that had passed, Diana spent nearly every waking moment looking through the notes in the journal, and compared them to her own she had made over the years. Using the calculations on the pages, she revised her star charts to the best of her ability and now her walls were covered in them. On the wall space right above her desk was a map of Mount Targon and surrounding territory; the village as well as important landmarks were labeled on it along with two locations circled in red.

Diana initially planned to travel to these two locations during the Harrowing, hoping the quelled village life would hide her disappearance. The event, however, made the elders hyperaware of anything and everything in the village.

Leona's training, depending on what the elders had prepared for her each day, became more taxing and much longer than before. Her strength in battle grew and she could almost effortlessly pull the sunlight into her strikes. She would often be exhausted or flustered when she went to meet up with Diana; sometimes she went straight to her living quarters. Diana never minded this much and would continue studying long into the night or visit Leona's living quarters briefly.

Naturally the elders refrained from teaching Leona during the Harrowing, and the two women took every opportunity they could to explore Mount Targon's wilderness. Diana would always be the quiet one, grey eyes scanning the land and committing the images to memory. To Leona's disdain, she usually brought her notes and a map and revised her notes based on what she saw. On the final day of the Harrowing, Leona managed to convince Diana to leave her things at home. She did allow Diana to bring a book, however, due to her inquisitive nature.

They found a secluded clearing a few days before and decided it was safe to experience the total eclipse from there. They arrived at the spot somewhat early in the day and based on what Diana had calculated the eclipse would not occur for some time. They passed the time doing different things. At first they sat in the shade of the boulder while Diana read aloud. When they grew tired of this, Leona shared some of the fighting techniques from the Rakkor and the things she learned from the Solari elders. Diana copied the stances awkwardly to which Leona responded with a lazy chuckle. "What?" she laughed when Diana threw her a nasty glare; she laughed not because of the look, but because of the rosy hue on Diana's cheeks. Diana darted after her, and they took turns chasing each other across the clearing.

When the midday sky started to go dark, they moved to the edge of the clearing. They sat next to each other with their backs to a tree; Diana was slumped against Leona with her head propped on her shoulder. Diana yawned and Leona shifted her head to glance at her. "Do you ever sleep?"

Diana shifted her grey eyes lazily to look at her friend then closed them with a shrug. "I haven't had the time. Been too busy looking for the temple." It was rare that Diana spent more than a few hours sleeping each night, though it did little to phase her daily routine. She progressively spent more and more time deciphering the notes made in the journal and reading Solari archives. There were some occasions in which she was so absorbed she would spend an entire day locked in her room. Leona scolded her when she did this, but would never stop her pursuit.

"How can you not have time to sleep?" Leona teased.

"Solari life is so demanding," Diana responded dramatically. "How could I ever sleep during the daytime?"

"The sun gives life," Leona replied simply, "It is only natural we live during the day and metaphorically die during the night." Diana scoffed, and a slight smile crossed Leona's lips. The two were silent for a moment while the sky overhead steadily grew darker. Leona quickly cast her eyes up then away again. "Do you always observe the eclipse? Not literally, but you know what I mean."

Diana nodded. "As much as I can. Sometimes it is difficult to get out of the village because of how aware the elders are." Her eyes opened. "They think the eclipse is so despicable that they make sure no one sees it."

"And what do you think the eclipse is?"

Diana was silent a moment as she tried to put words together. "It's almost as though the moon is protecting the sun, if only for a moment." There was another silence and Diana could feel her face heat up when she felt Leona's breath on her hair. "Or maybe it's the other way around," Diana added hastily, tucking her head in toward her body. A hand placed itself on the side of her head.

"You're so priceless," Leona said gently, tilting her head back against the tree.

"Shut up." Silence. Diana remained still and let warm fingers rake through her hair. "I'm going to leave the village to look for the temple tomorrow night," she finally said. The fingers stopped. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to join me."

"As much as I would like to," Leona said with a sigh, withdrawing her hand from Diana's head, "I'm sure the elders are going to make up for lost time. I don't expect any downtime for at least a week." She paused. "How long do you intend to be gone?"

Diana shrugged. "A week, maybe two." Diana could feel the other tense beneath her. "I'll be fine," she added confidently. "As long as I can see the stars and the sun, I can find my way back."

"I'm more worried about what's going to happen when you get back."

Diana gave a half-hearted laugh. "I doubt they'll know I'm even gone."

The two returned to the village after the eclipse passed. They spent the rest of that night together in Diana's room. They rarely spoke; Leona watched from the desk chair as Diana packed all the supplies she had hoarded away over the last few weeks.

The next day passed in a similar fashion. As Leona had anticipated, the elders summoned her early and kept her far later than they usually did. Diana spent the day in her room, save for the occasional trip for additional supplies. When night fell she packed up her things, pulled Solari cloak around her shoulders , went to the stables, and rode out of the village. Diana had initially planned to say goodbye to Leona, but she spotted a group of Iron Solari camped on the edge of the living district, forcing her to go the long way around to the stables and completely missing Leona's room.

* * *

A fortnight passed since Diana departed from the village. In that time she had searched a wide area of the mountain, but did not find any trace of the Lunari temple. Diana was not able to make use of the entire two weeks due to severe storms that flooded the rivers and felled trees. By the end of the two weeks, she was tired, sick, hungry and cold. She had barely made the supplies she brought last, having making the mistake to not take the weather into consideration. The horse she took, once a stout, healthy gelding, had begun to wither away and was in very poor condition. She doubted the horse would make it back to the village.

On the thirteenth night, while the winds raged and freezing rain fell without mercy beyond the safety of a bluff, Diana resolved to travel back to the village the entire day no matter the circumstances. She barely slept that night, having been kept awake from her constant coughing, pain and shakes. The next morning she mounted the sick horse with some effort and forced it to run as fast as it could for as long as it could. Her eyes would often dart around the forests and valleys and up to the non-existent sun. The rain droned on and the occasional boom of thunder shook Diana in the saddle.

By the time she reached the village gates late that evening, the rain had stopped, but it had taken a toll on her. She was slumped forward with her head on the horse's neck and trembling fingers gripping the edge of the saddle as tight as she could manage. She could practically feel the eyes on her as she rode through the gates, heard the voices, some worried, some angry.

In a sudden moment the horse collapsed on its front legs, which threw Diana forward over its head, and then fell over on its side with a hoarse mewl. There was a flurry of footsteps and suddenly Diana was surrounded by people. She lay as still as the pain in her ribcage would let her, her chest heaving with irregular breaths. "What is the meaning of this, heretic?" barked a voice above her. Diana vaguely recognized it as the elder Demetrios. She was unable to give much more of a response other than a groan. "Speak! Where have you been?"

It took Diana a few moments to choke words together. "I needed a break from this oppressive place." There was a sharp kick to her side and what little breath was left in Diana's body quickly left. She squirmed, holding herself with a pained expression in her dull eyes.

"And look at what it got you," another voice barked, elder Elias. "What were you doing out there, heretic?"

Diana shakily pushed herself to her hands and knees. "I was looking for the truth that you deny everyone." She received another sharp kick and her stomach emptied itself. She would have collapsed into the sick had it not been a pair of hands grabbing her beneath the arms and dragging her up and away. She was pulled away from the horse and dropped unceremoniously again a short distance away. She stared up into Demetrios and Elias' faces. She gave a wet cough and threw an arm across her eyes.

"What's wrong with you people?" cried out a random voice from the crowd. "Can't you see she's sick? She needs help!" Diana was thankful at least one person had their head on right.

"What she needs," Demetrios replied calmly, "is to be put in her place. We heard from someone in the village about your star charts, heretic, and I must say, you do a poor job hiding your work. Iron Solari Nicholas," he motioned for the man to come to him and he obeyed. "Hold her down." A feral yell rose from Diana's throat as the Iron Solari pinned her arms to the ground. She tried to squirm out of his grip, but she was no match for his strength. Diana saw a few people try to rush from the crowd to her, but one bark from Demetrios stopped them. "You help her and you get the same." He pointed to another Iron Solari. "Go get a whip. We're going to break her."

Diana could see the crowd thinning out and she continued to struggle against Nicholas. She continued to scream hoarsely. "Where is Leona?" she hissed.

"Busy. She does not have time to deal with you."

A quick pain shot through her heart. "You know nothing of your sun," she spat. She screamed for Leona, but was quickly silenced by the Iron Solari. The second Iron Solari returned and passed the whip to the elder. Diana would have thought the punishment much more brutal if she had not experienced it once before. The lashes across her already battered body elicited muffled cries nonetheless. Each minute passed like an eternity and eventually she closed her eyes and attempted to ignore the pain.

There was a sudden shriek that took Diana a moment to realize it was not her own. Her eyes opened in time to see the Iron Solari holding her captive flung off of her without much effort. The shadows of the elders standing over her dissipated and she distinctly heard a loud popping noise. She heard angry screaming, but through her daze could not make out the words. When Diana came out of the fog of pain, if only slightly, she realized it was Leona who had pulled the Iron Solari from her.

The avatar's eyes burned dangerously. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white, her breath labored as if she had run a long distance, and Diana could almost swear she felt heat emanating from her body. She moved to stand defensively over Diana. "What is the meaning of this?" she hissed.

"Avatar Leona, this heretic needs to be punished," Elias said with a slight shakiness to his voice. He was kneeling on the ground next to the writhing Demetrios, who was groaning about his jaw. "She continues to look for things that go against us, against you. She must be dealt with."

"I did not sanction this," she yelled. Diana winced beneath her. "What exactly has Diana done to any of you?" Leona looked around to the remaining crowd of people. "Has she physically or mentally harmed any of you at all?" She waited. No one responded. "Has she cheated you, lied to you, been nasty to you?" She gave the crowd less time to respond than before. "All Diana wants is to be left alone, and it's because of all of you, of how oppressive you are. She does nothing but read and study and searches for what she believes is the truth. Isn't that what we all do? Isn't that what _anyone_ does?"

"Leo, please stop."

Leona looked down to Diana with a confused face.

Diana drew in a deep breath, stifling a cough. "Just take me home."

Leona's face calmed slightly, but her eyes were still alight with fire. She looked back up at the crowd. "If any of you so much as lay a hand on this woman," She paused, eyeing each of the elders and Iron Solari. "I will personally cut you down." Leona knelt and Diana watched as Leona's face turned from livid to mournful. "I'm sorry," she said barely above a whisper. She pushed stray locks of platinum hair from her face. Leona slipped a hand beneath her back and lifted her up into a partial sitting position. She adjusted Diana's body so that her head would tuck into her shoulder. She placed her other arm beneath Diana's knees and slowly rose. "One of you get a doctor and meet me at Diana's living quarters. Someone else get something to clean her up with." The crowd dispersed and Leona carried Diana to her room.

When Leona arrived at Diana's room, two of the villagers were waiting for her. One of them had a kit of medical supplies and the other held a pail of water and towels. "We tried opening the door," one of them said, "But the door seems to be stuck."

"Here," Leona said motioning with her head for the medic to take Diana. He placed his bag on the ground and carefully took the sick girl. Leona took a step back from the door then shoved her shoulder into it roughly. The door refused to budge so she threw herself at it again. The door groaned and after a third shove it finally opened. Leona swore under her breath and she rubbed her shoulder, brushing off the medic when he asked if she was okay. She took the medic's bag and entered the room, followed by the other two. Leona was relieved to see that Diana's things seemed to be untouched.

Leona set the bag on the desk chair and went to the bed, fixing the pillows and pulling the sheets down. She then backed away so that Diana could be lowered on the bed. She went to the door and briefly turned to look at the two others. "Clean her up, I'm going to get some things from my quarters." They nodded and made themselves busy.

Leona returned a short while later with some of her own blankets and pillows. She dropped the pillows and two of the three blankets on the floor at the end of the bed. Diana was partially sitting up in the bed. The woman who brought the pail of water was sitting on the edge of the bed, finishing cleaning her legs and the medic was dressing her wounds as she cleaned the skin. Leona threw the third folded blanket on the end of the bed. "How is she?"

The medic briefly looked at her over his thick glasses. "She'll be fine," he said, tying off a strip of bandages. "Seems she contracted a real nasty chest infection, possible dehydration. Plenty of rest and she should be fine in a couple of weeks."

The woman finished cleaning the dirt from Diana and placed a plump hand on her arm. "I'll bring you something to eat in a while, dear." Diana could only blink in response. The woman rose and picked up the pail and wet towel. When she turned the was met with Leona's gaze. "I'll bring you something as well."

Leona nodded. "Thank you, Vicky." The woman smiled and left. The man stood, packed up his things and headed toward the door.

"Let me know if she gets worse."

Again Leona nodded and she waited until the door closed before taking the blanket she threw onto the bed. She pulled Diana's sheets up to the girl's ribcage then threw the blanket over her. Diana watched her in silence as she pulled the desk chair next to the bed and sat in it. There was a thick silence and Diana could practically feel Leona's guilt. "How does your shoulder feel?" Diana finally asked, trying to at least start a conversation.

Leona shrugged and looked down to her lap where her hands were clasped together. "It hurts. I probably bruised it, but I'm okay." She wrung her hands together. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them."

"That wasn't your fault," Diana replied weakly. Her eyes lazily blinked. "I made some very bad assumptions before I left the village. I ran out of food after the first week and had to hunt small game, but with the weather that was next to impossible." She coughed harshly and Leona shifted her gaze up, but before Leona could speak, Diana continued. "I could have died, and I didn't even come close to finding the temple."

"You shouldn't speak, it might make things worse." Leona said, leaning forward a bit. Diana waved her off. "I should have gone with you."

Diana shook her head. "Don't beat yourself up over this. You shouldn't have to be stuck with me out there in that weather." Leona looked down again and Diana watched her in silence for a few moments. "You brought more blankets." She finally said.

"I'm going to be staying with you until you get better."

"You're going to sleep on the floor?"

"I've slept on more uncomfortable things." Leona never looked up. She pushed a hand through her hair. "I'm almost done with my training," she said with a sigh. "Last week the elders talked to me about going to the Institute of War when I'm finished." Leona paused. "I haven't given them a yes or a no yet. I don't really know if I would even want to leave, especially now. But for now, I'm just going to focus on the present and make sure you get better."

Diana did not respond, but just watched Leona in silence. She extended an arm and the tips of her fingers barely reached beneath her chin. She lifted it gently. "Thank you."

* * *

Meanwhile at the Solari temple, the elders had called together a meeting to discuss Diana and their avatar's relationship. "Elder Elias, something needs to be done about this girl," one of the others said. The others sitting around the table murmured in agreement.

The man nodded, twining his fingers together. "Yes, but avatar Leona is very protective of that wench."

"We have to separate them," another suggested.

Elias shook his head. "It won't be so simple as that," he replied. He was silent, his bright blue eyes darting over the other's faces. "We have the opportunity to separate them, we just have to be patient." When the others looked at him in disbelief, he added, "When Leona completes her training, we will send her to the Institute, no questions asked. Diana will be vulnerable then. All we have to do is wait until she does something again, then we execute her." There was another mumble among the elders, many of them nodding their heads in agreement.

* * *

Told you it was long. .A. Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. And hey, if you did like it, or even if you didn't, why not leave a review? I love your input and I want to think everyone who has left reviews and have favorited and followed this thus far.


	4. Legacy

AN: Hey guys, guess what? You get two chapters this week, and a couple days early! I intentionally planned for chapter 4 and 5 to be a singular chapter, however I felt that breaking it in half would be best because it seperates one set of ideas from another...or something like that.

Some of you might be thinking, But Prof. Nasus, you shouldn't be posting chapters this fast! Well, i really shouldn't but I do everything for a reason and I'll tell you why I'm doing this; if i don't do this now, I will be doomed to forget it later on, and I would like to get started on chapter 6 as soon as I can, because if I don't, I won't, and the fic will be doomed to rot here.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this week's chapters, and as always, thank you for the support.

* * *

Diana lay with her head on the foot of the bed, one arm dangling off the mattress at the elbow, her head resting on the other. Her grey eyes glinted in the darkness, lit up by the waxing moon outside. She pushed her free hand through her hair and her hand stopped at the back of her head. There was a slight miasma, a dull ache that persisted there from the few hours of sleep she managed to snag. Despite still feeling ill, Diana wanted to be up and awake and continuing her studies. Resting in bed all day, save for the occasional walk around the district to keep her blood flowing, did not suit Diana at all.

Directly below her on the floor was the sleeping Solari. She looked incredibly uncomfortable to Diana, having been twisted halfway on her stomach. She had one pillow beneath her torso, her arms wrapped around it. A second was on her left side parallel to her body, away from the bed.

Out of all the things Diana hated about being stuck in bed, watching the Solari sleep had to be the least annoying. In fact, she dared to say it was entertaining. During the day Leona would be as serious as she could muster, doing practically everything for Diana and going wherever she did. It was painful for Diana to watch because she hated being so utterly dependent and because she knew Leona still bore some guilt from the week before. Leona refused to attend any training sessions, and while Diana was thankful Leona was willing to care for her, she wished she would at least do _something _for herself.

But the occasional toss, snore, the metallic thump of bone and the subsequent howl of pain made Diana strangely happy. In the back of her mind, she almost wished she could stay sick forever.

The arm replaced itself over the edge of the bed and Diana's head tilted to the side. A smile quirked on her lips. "Wake up, Leona."

There came a groan from below and the smile on Diana's lips turned to a smirk as she saw Leona's brow crease in frustration. "No," the Solari grumbled, her arms tightening around the pillow beneath her.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Leona rose up on her forearms with a harsh breath and squinted in the darkness. "Dammit, Diana," she growled, falling face first back into the pillow. She mumbled something incoherently.

Above her, Diana was struggling to hold in her laughter. "What was that?"

Leona turned her face. "I said it's not even morning yet. What are you doing up?"

"I'm awake. That means you should be, too." There was another grumble. "You can't possibly be comfortable down there."

Leona drew in another breath and slowly turned herself on her back. She squinted up at Diana. "I've slept like this all week."

"That doesn't mean you're comfortable." Leona grimaced and sat up. She winced as several joints throughout her body popped. Diana waited a moment, her grey eyes unblinking. "Why didn't you bring a mattress with you?"

"Oh right, no one is going to question me dragging a mattress across the village." Leona replied, rubbing her eyes.

"No one has questioned you, the avatar, living in the same room as a heretic." Diana almost laughed at calling herself a heretic. She did not like that word, and certainly did not like thinking that she was one.

"I've been questioned," Leona corrected. "No one has done anything about it though."

"You gave them a good reason not to do anything."

Leona pushed herself backwards a little so that she could sit with her back to the wall. She pulled her legs up a little and rested her arms on her knees. "Yeah, but I'm not going to do anything to hurt my own people, unless it's warranted." She paused, then looked up to Diana. "I mean what kind of leader would I be if I punished people because they looked at me the wrong way?" Diana did not respond, but instead tilted her head thoughtfully. "Be glad you're not the leader of a group of people." She turned her head away.

"Do you not like being the Solari avatar?"

Leona sighed, putting a hand to her head. "Well, no. It's not like I'm mad the sun saved my life, far from it. But what really gets me, Diana," Leona turned her gaze to look at her. "Is that although I'm the so-called leader of the Solari, they don't listen to me. They do things in my name, and when I find out about it I get so angry because I was not consulted first. What if these people invade a village and kill a bunch of innocent people and they claim they did it in my name?"

"Isn't that essentially what happened with the purge?"

The air grew thick with silence, save for a breath Leona drew. "That is exactly why I hate being the avatar. I refuse to live the legacy that was left behind by my ancestors." Without saying a word, Diana leaned forward and took Leona's hand from her head. The Solari turned her head and golden pools met with stone. Her fingertips curled around Diana's.

"I think you'll leave a legacy Valoran will remember for centuries."

A smile manifested across Leona's lips. "I hope you're with me for all of it."

* * *

As the next week progressed, Diana's strength slowly returned and she returned to her daily routine. Leona still accompanied her wherever she went, bent on preventing the villagers from harming Diana further. Many of them hissed and spat at the pair, but they remained undeterred. To Leona, it did not matter that Diana went against the Solari, that she prayed to a different god, or that others called her a heretic. Diana was simply a person, and Leona could care less what the Solari thought of their relationship.

Each day in the year that passed only brought them closer. The elders slowly backed off from Leona and she resumed her training. Diana kept more to herself in her living quarters than she did previously, but still found opportunities to search Mount Targon for the temple. While none of them were successful, she knew she was getting closer and closer with each search.

That day in late June had been like any other; it was now late in the day, but the sun was still incredibly bright. Leona sprinted across the village to the living district as fast as she could. This was usual for the Solari, to meet up with Diana after the elders dismissed her, but today it was much more urgent.

She slowed only when she neared Diana's door, panting for air as she slapped a hand against the wooden door. "Diana, guess what?" she said breathlessly through it, pounding it a second time. No response came and Leona pressed her ear to the door. "Diana?" She pushed on the door and it creaked open. Diana was sitting slumped over onto her desk, pen in hand.

Diana's room was a mess; papers and books were strewn all around the desk. Maps and scraps of paper were tacked onto the walls. Waded balls of paper overflowed in a basket. Leona shook her head as she entered the room, closing the door behind her. She went to the desk and gently shook Diana's shoulders. Diana shot up and her eyes darted around until they landed on Leona. "Oh, it's you." She grumbled, wiping the sleeve of her robe across her mouth and stretching.

"This place is even more of a mess than it was yesterday," Leona replied, taking a seat on the edge of Diana's bed. "Your door was unlocked. How long have you been awake?"

Diana ran her fingers through her hair repeatedly to fix it. She turned in her chair to face Leona. Her eyes were heavy and dark pools rest beneath them. "Since you left yesterday evening." Leona's face grew concerned. "But," Diana continued, holding up a finger to discourage Leona from speaking, "I think I finally found it." A wild grin formed across her face and she turned back to face the map above her desk. She pointed to a location on the far side of the mountain. "It's right here, I know it."

Leona folded her hands in her lap and crossed her ankles. "You think it's there or you know it is?"

With this Diana spun around with a face mixed somewhere between hurt and sleep. "You don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, Diana," Leona idly popped her knuckles. "But you've been awake for a very long time. Are you sure you didn't make a miscalculation or something?" Diana kept her stare on the Solari. "I'm concerned about your health, that's all. When are you going to look for the temple?"

Diana turned back around, a scowl on her face. She picked up her pen and twirled it through her fingers. "Tomorrow."

Leona stood and silently made her way to Diana. "I think you need to rest first," the Solari said gently. She placed her arms around Diana's neck and leaned forward so that their heads were close together. "Wait a few weeks, make sure you found it, and for gods sake," Her lips were close to her ear. "_Get some sleep._ I hate seeing you half dead."

Diana ran her tongue across her teeth and she sighed inwardly. She placed a hand to the side of Leona's head. "Fine," she relented, taking a handful of the red strands. Diana could feel Leona's lips curl in satisfaction against her ear, but before Diana could turn to inquire, Leona withdrew from her and returned to the bed. Diana turned again to face Leona. The Solari's face had a serious glint to it and Diana's brow furrowed. "What is it?"

"I finished my training," Leona replied.

"That's great, Leo."

Leona wrung her hands in her lap and looked down. "The elders are determined to send me to the Institute of War." When Diana did not respond, Leona quickly shifted her eyes up then away again. "They think it best to have me represent the Solari over anyone else."

"Seems logical."

Leona's face twisted a little and she pushed her fingers through her hair in an attempt to ease her thoughts. "I don't want to leave you here with the elders."

Diana tilted her head. It was strange seeing Leona like this. "When do they plan for you to leave?"

"I was told that I needed to finish some things up, to prove I was ready, and if everything goes well I'd be sent off the eigth of July." Leona looked up at Diana; there was a sort of pleading in her eyes that was not natural for the Solari. "That gives us two weeks."

Suddenly Diana realized Leona wanted her to stay in the village for more reasons than to catch up on sleep. "What do you think they're going to be doing in those two weeks?" Diana asked, turning the chair so she could better face Leona.

Leona shrugged and ran a hand across her eyes. "I can't honestly say, but my guess is that they're going to be keeping me in the temple for observation, which means you'll be alone."

"I'm alone during the day while you train."

"And you'll be alone when they send me off." Leona's eyes bored hard into Diana, and Diana recoiled a little in her chair. "I'm afraid of what they'll do when I'm gone, because they'll do things and slap my name on it."

Diana was silent a moment as her thoughts burned in her skull. This was something they had been trying to avoid speaking of since the day Diana was beaten in the streets. Diana was not fully aware of just how much pain Leona still bore from the event. Diana slowly rose, careful not to collapse from the sudden altitude change, and made her way to Leona with her arms open. "Come here," she said, embracing the Solari. One hand passed over her scalp and settled at the back of her neck. After a few moments of hesitation, she felt Leona's fingertips dip into the bone of her shoulder. "You don't have to be afraid," Diana continued. "It'll be scary when you leave, but I have to stand up for myself. I've spent my whole life looking for this temple. If I can just find it, maybe the elders will see they were wrong and listen to reason."

"Promise me you'll find that temple."

Diana withdrew from Leona enough to look her in the face. "We've still got two weeks. Let's not worry ourselves with this for now."

* * *

That week was spent in a haze for Diana. She spent much of that week in bed resting, just as Leona had asked. The first few days she continued her up-all-night studies, but when Leona failed to turn up on her doorstep in the afternoons, she deduced that the elders were keeping her. She saw little of the Solari, catching only quick glances of her when she was in the village, and heard even less from her. It pained Diana, but she let none of it surface because she knew that to give it voice was to give the elders what they wanted.

On the thirteenth night there was a celebration throughout the village. Diana did not attend the daytime celebrations, fearful that seeing Leona and Leona seeing her would bring emotions to a boiling point. Diana remained at her quarters when it continued into the night, but sat outside. She managed to climb on top of the building; from here she could see as far as the plaza, which was lit up by a glow that could have only come from the Radiant Dawn, and Diana knew Leona would be gone in the morning. Diana pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her knees at this thought. She ignored the throb in her chest when she heard the distant sounds of the celebration. She was not prepared to have her best friend leave so soon.

When the light and noise died down, Diana let herself fall back against the stone roof. Her eyes were met with millions of tiny lights, and her grey orbs danced around to look at them. Slowly her racing mind began to ease and she sighed in contentment. "I'm so close to finding this temple," she whispered, her eyes closing. "How I wish you could be here, mother." Diana slipped into a semi-conscious state, lulled by the breeze rustling through the woods and the low hum of insects. Hours could have passed and she would have been nonethewiser, until she heard a knock from below followed shortly by a voice.

"Diana? You in there?"

Diana shot up in the dark and crawled her way to the edge of the roof where she had climbed up hours before. There was another knock and Diana hurried down from the roof as fast as she could. When she hastily rounded the corner of the building, she nearly ran into the Solari avatar and let out a gasp. She was caught by the arms and was left staring wide-eyed into Leona's face. Diana finally let out an exasperated breath. "What are you doing here?"

Leona's face fell as if she had done something wrong and Diana immediately regretted saying what she did. "I wanted to see you before they sent me off. Did you not want to see me?"

Diana's mouth gaped open like a river fish as she scrambled to find the right words to say. "N-no, I mean, yes, I did want to see you. I just wasn't really expecting to see you, that's all."

Leona sheepishly looked down. "I'm not supposed to be here. I snuck away from the elders after everyone left."

Diana broke one arm from Leona's grip and shoved the door open. "You could've came inside, you dolt. The door was open," Diana said, pulling the Solari in.

"That would be rude. Why would I do that?" Leona pulled the door shut behind her.

A quiet laugh escaped Diana's lips as she turned, but it quickly died away as she was met with burning pools. Her countenance dropped and suddenly all of her emotions from that week began to settle in her heart. When Leona broke the gaze to look down, Diana threw herself into the Solari, her face pressed into her shoulder and hands forming fists on the other's shoulder blades. At first Leona did not respond and Diana felt a sickening in her stomach, but after a while she felt the pressure of Leona's hands on her back. "I've missed you, Leo," she muttered, her voice betraying a slight shakiness.

Diana could feel the other's hands stiffen on her back at her voice and beneath her Leona's chest drew in a deep breath. One hand removed itself and reattached at her head, and slender fingers raked along her scalp. "Don't be sad for me, Diana," Leona said quietly.

"I'm not," the other replied, but again her voice cracked and she inwardly cursed at herself. She clenched her fists tighter. "I'm not ready for you to leave," she continued; a hushing noise curled from Leona's throat. "I'm afraid to be here alone, Leona."

"I'm not going to be gone forever," Leona whispered. When Diana only shook in response, she set her chin atop the other's head. "I'll be back here every chance I get to make sure the elders don't run the place into the ground, to see you. Here, look at me,"

Diana withdrew a few inches, partially from her own will and partially from Leona making her do so. She was again met with warm golden pools. The hand that held her head moved to hold her face instead.

"Do you trust me?"

A tear slipped unchallenged at the question, but it was quickly brushed away by the Solari. Diana felt foolish, even childish, to be so small in front of the avatar. Diana wanted to slip away into the night, to run into the woods and pretend none of this had ever happened. She wanted to tell herself it would have been easier if she sent Leona away when she found her on her doorstep, or if Leona had not come at all. She dare not send her away, especially not now.

"Diana?"

"I trust you," she replied quickly, her voice gaining some of its strength back.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Diana," the Solari continued, pulling Diana into her embrace again. They were silent a moment and Diana remained still, letting fingers resume their ministrations on the back of her head. Despite Leona's words, some fear still harbored itself in her heart. A quiet laugh shook in Leona's chest. "You're like the little sister I never had," A smile managed to find its way across Diana's lips. "Always so worried, always scrambling after me, coming to me for comfort."

"Sister?"

"I want you to have this," Leona said, again pulling from Diana. She reached beneath the neck of her robes, produced a necklace and pulled it over her head. "I know you don't think too kindly of the Solari sometimes," she said, draping an Iron Solari locket over her fingers, "but this way you'll have some of me with you, and maybe you won't feel so alone."

Diana shook her head; a vein throbbed in her forehead. "I can't take that from you." But before Diana could do anything else, Leona was working on fixing it around her neck.

"Nonsense. I won't need it."

Diana's eyes shifted down, turning the locket over in her fingers. The craftsmanship of it was fine and it looked fairly well taken care of. Despite what Leona said, she still felt bad for taking it.

She must have been silent for some time because the Solari finally asked, "Is everything okay?"

"You leave tomorrow?" A trivial question; she knew the answer.

"Yes."

"Will you stay with me?" Diana looked up again, her hands continuing to pry over the locket, though in an anxious need now. "Just for tonight," she added when Leona's head tilted slightly as if to question. "Please?"

"And where will I be sleeping?"

Diana's lips twitched. "Don't be coy."

When Diana awoke that next morning, she heard a quiet rustling behind her, and then felt a shift in weight. She made no attempt to move, only grumbled and pulled her sheets closer around her body. There was a stillness for some time and slowly Diana became more conscious, but refused to open her eyes. There was a gentle pressure against her ear and she tossed away from it after it lifted. Diana suddenly heard a distinctive thud and at this noise she immediately shot up. Her eyes darted around, and although it was not quite dawn yet, she saw that Leona was missing. Diana rose hastily, nearly throwing herself to the floor, and scrambled to dress herself in the dark. She went to the door, threw it open and ran out into the district.

But there was no sign of Leona.

Disappointed, Diana trudged her way back to her room, crawled back into bed, and stayed there for most of the day.

* * *

AN: Chapter five will be posted later tonight after I look over it and make sure it's how I want it; at the latest it will be posted tomorrow morning. You can find a slightly different version of the first part of this chapter on my tumblr (it's not much different, but whatever), and the link to that is on my profile. If you like you can follow my tumblr, as I will usually post updates on where I'm at with this week's chapter and sometimes I post some cuts from chapters, previews ect. If you have any questions for me or about Ascend, feel free to ask! I have no life so I usually reply to things like that quickly.

Love you guys. .w.


	5. Transcend

AN: Not really sure what to put here, since I basically explained everything in the last chapter's heading notes. Anyway, this is the second chapter for this week, which was originally supposed to be a part of chapter 4. However, I thought it would be best to split the chapter up so that the ideas would be better organi- yada yada, I said this already.

* * *

The horse shook his head in frustration as Diana loaded a final bag of supplies onto him. She gave him a pat on the neck, checked all the buckles to make sure they were secure, and mounted the horse. She wheeled the beast around and rode out of the stables.

Diana had barely spoken a word to anyone since Leona left. She continued on with her daily routine as if nothing had happened, except she would go straight home in the afternoons instead of wait for the Solari avatar. No one had much bothered Diana, save for her father who insisted on pestering her more often than was necessary.

Diana had resolved to pool her emotions, all her energy into a singular stoic force. An ache occupied the back of her skull almost constantly, and at times she felt she was going mad.

As the horse cantered its way down the streets of the village, Diana could feel the locket thumping against her chest beneath her robes.

It had only been a week before that Diana was confident of the location of the Lunari temple. She was awake for three days and nights, frantically flipping through a Solari archival text and comparing it to the notes of the ragged journal she found months before. This particular archive had information, however biased, about the Lunari and the purge. Near the end of the book, she found what she had looked for for so long. "The Lunari fled like the cowards they were, but when they came back to negotiate peace, they were slaughtered mercilessly, save their leader. She led us to her two temples, which were destroyed, and the heretic was then slaughtered at the ruins. The locations of the temples were painfully like the Lunari; they were hidden away from the sun."

She screamed with mad laughter upon reading that passage. Diana's mission became simple then; find the place on Mount Targon where the sun's light was the most inhibited.

When Diana passed through the plaza she saw her father talking among a group of men. He was turned with his back away from her, but one of the men pointed over his shoulder and, much to Diana's dismay, he turned. Diana attempted to wheel the horse in a different direction, but her father had quickly advanced and took the gelding by the bridle. "Where are you going?"

"Out of the village. I need some space to think." Diana twisted the reins around her fingers anxiously.

"Then what's all this?" He motioned to the bags strapped to the horse.

"Things to help me think with." Diana replied coldly, shoving her heels into the horse's side. He snorted and reared a few inches off the ground before breaking into a gallop. Diana turned her head enough so that she could catch a glimpse of the old man; he shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest. He returned to the group of men.

She rode out of the east end of the village into the woods and traveled most of the day. She crossed through the clearing, through countless valleys and small brooks that ran off from the mountain's summit. Diana stopped the horse when the sun was just overhead; she was on the far side of the mountain, close to the mountain's base. She let the horse graze nearby while she sat next to a stream. Diana had her map of Mount Targon stretched out in front of her, and she carefully traced the path she took with her finger. Her brows furrowed when her finger landed on the stream she was at. Something was off; she was near the place she marked on the map, less than a day's travel away, and she should have been able to see another valley from where she was located, but there was nothing but woods.

"It has to be here," she whispered, her grey eyes darting frantically over the map. She heard a quiet splashing noise and at first she ignored it, thinking it was the horse taking a drink nearby, but when it persisted she looked up from the map. She was met with the black marble eyes and gaping mouth of a dull-grey carp. She rolled the map up slowly as she watched it with curious eyes, and reached out for it when she finished, dipping her fingers into the water. Her fingertips slid across the cool scales of its head. The fish jerked, closing its mouth over her index finger. Diana quickly withdrew her hand and held it at her chest. The fish sputtered away at the sudden reaction, but quickly came back.

She placed the map into a bag and opened another, producing half a loaf of bread. Diana pulled off a piece, dropped it carefully into the water in front of the carp, and watched the fish devour it. She again dipped her fingers into the water and this time the fish did not shy away from her touch. She dropped another piece of the loaf into the water, and when the fish finished it, it slowly spun and swam a few feet up the river and stopped. Beady eyes poked up from the water and Diana watched it curiously. She slowly stood, a notion coming into her mind.

_I'm insane,_ she thought, _This fish is trying to tell me something and I'm perfectly insane._

Diana whistled for the horse. When it stopped in front of her, she began to wheel it into the water as she was mounting it and nearly threw herself into the stream in the process. She strained herself up so she could see the fish and kicked the horse to follow it when it began to swim away.

The fish eventually led Diana to a waterfall and vanished beneath it. Diana gave the horse another kick to enter it, but the beast reared up and stomped his feet. "You big baby." Diana looked down; the water was now just above the horse's knees and she guessed it would only get deeper beyond the fall. She made herself busy unbuckling the straps holding the bags on the horse's body, throwing them onto the bank. When she was finished she pressed the horse forward again, and although it argued against her, it moved forward into the veil of water. The waterfall hid a small cave; at the end of it was the dull glow of vegetation. Just as she anticipated, the water rose past Diana's calves and eventually the horse was kicking through the water.

With some difficulty the horse made it out of the cave and was now wading through a small lake. He made a straight path to the bank and shook himself when he came upon dry land. Diana, on the other hand, was looking around the small sanctuary with wide eyes and mouth agape. Her eyes landed on a set of stone stairs carved into the mountainside, covered by brush and vegetation, and she suddenly felt like she were about to explode. She broke into hysterical laughter, lunging forward on the horse and hugging its neck. "I'm not crazy," she said, throwing herself from the horse. She went to stand in front of it and held its face in her hand. "I knew it, I knew I wasn't crazy!" The horse snorted in response.

Diana ran up the stone stairs, frantically pulling away roots and vines. She uncovered a stone door and her hands pressed over it, trying to find a way to open it. She found an opening large enough to fit her fingers into and she pulled on the stone as hard as she could. It took some time, but eventually she pried the door open enough to slip into the temple.

The temple was built into the side of the mountain, but much like the Solari temple in the village, there was a single circular opening in the roof. The temple was round unlike the Solari temple, and the walls were held up and decorated with elaborate columns and faded murals. There were weapons and robes, baskets, pottery, all sorts of items scattered around the walls.

Diana's eyes slowly scanned over the round walls, finally settling on an altar near the back wall. There was an object, no, a _figure_ bent over it, and Diana tilted her head curiously. She went to it, and as she came closer, she started to what she thought was hair and bone. Directly across from the corpse on top of the altar was a pedestal that held a suit of armor and a blade.

The corpse was bent over, as if it had once been praying over the altar. Nearly everything had rotted away from it, save for a few scraps of cloth and fragile platinum blonde hair. There was a dark rust-colored stain below it; when Diana circled around the left side, she could see why. A dagger was imbedded between the neck bones, the hand still clutching the hilt. Although Diana did not want to think it was true, the idea ran across her mind that maybe the corpse was her mother. It certainly explained her disappearance, the notes in the journal and the vague answers she received from her father.

Nonetheless, Diana made herself busy, leaving the temple and creating a makeshift stretcher from the vegetation and a piece of a felled tree. She transported the cadaver outside and gave it a long overdue burial.

She reentered the temple and again went to the altar, this time stepping up to the pedestal to retrieve the weapon and armor. The armor was fine, much more ornate than that or the Solari, and much easier to move in. She almost felt natural in it, as if each and every piece was made for her. The curved blade that was with it was just a beautiful, and the metal exuded a glow as if it were moonlight itself.

It was nearing dusk and Diana resolved to return to the Solari village; if she were quick, she could make it there before morning.

* * *

A full moon watched like a silent sentinel as Diana rode into the Solari village. The streets were empty, the night air was cool.

From a distance Diana could see the Solari temple was lit up with a faint glow. She dismounted the horse when she came up to it and entered the temple. A self-satisfied smile had smeared its way across her face, and when she was met with the shocked faces of the elders it only grew.

"I found it," she said, whirling the blade so that the curve rested on her shoulder. "After all these years, you thought I was wrong, but I _finally_ found proof." The elders were silent; two of them, Elias and Demetrios, exchanged a look that was neither frightened nor angry. Diana moved forward to the elders. "There were others, just like me. A whole clan of us, and you thought you destroyed everything." Diana shook her head, the smile decaying into a bitter scowl. "You were wrong. Admit it."

"There is a reason why we punish those who follow the moon, Diana." Elias replied with an even tone. "They are, simply, like you are now; bitter, vengeful, and for the most part out of their damned minds. They threaten the Solari way of life, _you_ threaten our way of life." Elias motioned with his head to Diana and two Iron Solari seized her by the arms. One took the crescent blade and handed it to Demetrios. "We've tried for years to reason with you, Diana. We've ran out of options. It is with _great_ displeasure," he paused; Diana lunged forward at him and he laughed, "that I sentence you to death for your heresy." He turned and motioned for the Iron Solari to follow. "Come. We shall make haste of this."

"Bastards!" Diana screamed, pulling again at her captors as she was drug away down a corridor. "All I ever wanted was for the Solari to accept me. I find proof and yet you still deny me?"

"You still have a chance at acceptance, Diana, if you so choose to take it." Demetrios replied.

They led Diana into a part of the temple she had not yet seen before; it was lit from above by the moon. The Iron Solari forced her to her knees and bound her limbs together. One of them walked away, and after a moment she could smell flame and heating metal. When he came back, he was carrying some sort of heated branding tool. "This is your last chance, Diana," Elias said when the Iron Solari stood next to him. He turned the brand in his hand, and Diana recognized the heated metal as the Lunari symbol. "You can give up your heresy now and lead us to the surviving temple, or you can be branded a heretic and die."

A dangerous iciness consumed Diana's eyes and her heart was set aflame. "You will _never_ break me."

"Hold her head."

With those words, Diana realized there was nothing more she could do to convince them; Diana was no longer a Solari, she was a heretic.

Hands clamped around her jaws and snapped her head up. She screamed and tried to fight back, but the Iron Solari held her in place. The heated metal burned her even before it touched her skin, and when it finally did, she could feel the heat throughout her body. A horrific, blood-curdling scream tore from her throat. The pain from it was so intense she almost felt her consciousness slip from her; she wished it had. Even though her eyes were screwed shut, tears managed to squeeze from beneath her lids. For a short moment she could have sworn she smelled burning hair.

When the brand was removed, the pain remained but was much less severe than it had been. The Iron Solari released her and her head slumped forward, her body shaking. "Where…Where is Leona?"

"She need not be here for this, heretic. This is her will."

"Leona would never let this happen," she choked. "This is an agenda, this is _your_ will."

"In times like this, when our way of life is threatened, our will _is _her will."

Diana looked up into the circular opening overhead, her eyes pleading to the moon. Her tears felt hot on her face. "Gods, please help me."

"Kill her."

"How ironic would it be to kill her with her own blade?"

Diana closed her eyes; she heard the sound of the blade being spun above her, heard it coming down upon her, but nothing happened. When Diana forced her eyes open, she saw the edge of the blade and the men through a pale golden veil.

_Can you hear me, Diana?_

Diana's eyes went wide and she again looked up.

_Do you wish to serve me, serve the moon?_

"Yes…"

_These people took everything from you; they took your voice, your freedom, your mother, tried to take you._

Diana could feel a rage boiling inside her.

_Will you spread the word of our power? Will you cull the world of the corruption that is the Solari, speak the truth of our people? Will you tell the world the plight of the Lunari?_

"Yes, I swear."

_Rebuild us, Diana. This power is yours._

A surge of energy burned through Diana's core. Her eyes burned and a yell escaped her throat as she ripped the bindings on her wrists, then her legs. She surged forward as the golden barrier faded, pinning the Iron Solari that held her blade to the ground. She took it, reared up, and stabbed the point of the blade through the dip of bone at his neck. She looked up at the others, who stood horrified before her. She stood, her face expressionless. "You cast me aside all my life. Now you'll pay for it."

The blade began to glow and Diana swung it in a wide arc as if the movement were natural. The glow shot off the blade, burning a crescent path onto the floor and hitting all but three of the men, who managed to escape the arc in time. Diana rushed forward, colliding into one of the hit men and instantly sliced his back open. A spray of blood coated Diana's front and he fell to the floor a corpse. She quickly turned, catching a second man by the neck with the hook of her blade, nearly severing the man's head.

She slaughtered another five men without much effort and soon she was dripping in their blood. But there were still two others, two that managed to escape. She bent down to one of the elders and she stabbed the blade into his stomach, her face still stoic. "Where are Elias and Demetrios?" she spat. The man gurgled in response and shook his head. Diana twisted the blade; the man produced a hollow cry. "You're dying. Might as well make your last moment fruitful." The man feebly pointed in the direction they had come through just a half hour before. Diana stood, her blade once again glowing. She swung it, this time sending an arc not at anyone, but to the columns holding the room up. Three of them broke and the walls began to cave; Diana looked up into the opening, sprung herself up and disappeared.

Diana reformed on the front of the Solari temple, looking down on its entrance. She saw two figures scurry out of the temple below her and she jumped, again blending into the night. She appeared behind the two men in midair; her blade found the back of Demetrios' head while her free hand smashed Elias' into the stone as she landed. The former was dead instantly and although she suspected the other was as well, she pushed her blade into his back for good measure.

"_Diana!"_

Diana shifted her gaze up, and a bloody smile stretched across her face. She turned the bloody blade over in her hand.

_She's one of them Diana. She's responsible for the purge of the Lunari. You know what you must do._

_"Yes."_

_Kill her._

"It's about time, Solari."

"What have you done?" Leona's voice was angry, nearly screaming.

"I did what was necessary." In a mere second she was upon the avatar, swinging her blade in an effort to rid her of her head. Leona reacted quickly and the blade clanged against her shield.

"_Necessary?"_ Leona scowled, shoving the Lunari backwards. "You call killing innocent people _necessary?_"

Diana stumbled back a few paces, but quickly regained the lost ground. "They tried to take my head, so I took theirs."

"You killed them, Diana! You were never supposed to kill them!" Leona swung her sword; Diana caught it with the curve of her blade and pulled it away. The Solari was dazed for a moment, and Diana made her way toward her, but she kept the blade to her side.

"It seems you and I are headed our separate ways."

Diana vanished, leaving the Solari speechless. She collected her sword, her hands shaking, her eyes welling with tears. She clenched her fist around her sword as tight as she could. Leona looked up to the moon, her tears spilling over.

_"Diana!"_

* * *

AN: AND IT FEELS LIKE I AM JUST TOO CLOSE TO LOVE YOU

/slapped

I didn't do that on purpose, I swear.

And this concludes the backstory-ish part of the fic and now we're gonna be moving into more present-ish day stuff! Yayyyyy! If you guys like this week's chapters, feel free to leave a review, or if you have a question for me or about ascend, you can send me a PM or head on over to my tumblr to drop an ask. Prof. Nasus loves you! :D


	6. Dark Horse Diana

AN: Dark horse: an expression that was first used in horse racing, used to describe someone who is unexpected or an unlikely challenger.

Thank you guys for all the support, I don't really know what to put here because I'm tired. I absolutely love reading all of your reviews and stuff, makes me all happy and whatnot. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I'm sorry it took so long!

* * *

The chambers echoed with careful footsteps, careful breaths, and the shift of armor. Cruel grey eyes cut through the darkness. Just ahead at the end of the chamber was the faint glow of approaching daybreak. The eyes narrowed. "How dare you," Diana growled. She scraped the end of her blade along the stone wall of the chamber, producing a loud screeching noise. "How dare you try sticking your face in my temple?" She pulled the blade from the wall, setting the curve on her shoulder as she stepped out of the chamber into the light.

Diana's head turned to survey the whole of the room. The air was damp and cold; a collection of rainwater and dew dripped from the opening in the ceiling and off the overhanging walls. The fleeting darkness clung to the frescoes and columns, and Diana stalked into it. Her eyes were fixed on the opening above, watching tiny rays poke themselves out from the fog and trees.

"I have waited," she continued, "I have watched. I have forged myself in this sanctuary, and I have _thrived_ without you. No longer will I hide in the darkness from you, Solari!" Her voice echoed harshly off the walls. She stepped out from the shelter of the columns and the pale purple-red light illuminated her porcelain face. Diana walked to the center of the temple and looked up. "I know where you are, and I will cull you from this earth like you culled me. My voice will be quelled no more." A drop of rainwater landed on her face, rolled down her cheek, and fell from her jaw. Diana lifted her free hand and touched her fingertips to the damp trail left behind. "Cry all you want. There will be nothing left when I'm done with you." She continued to stare up into the opening a few seconds as if she expected a response, then turned and walked calmly out of the temple.

Diana stopped at the landing of the stairs. She dug the tip of her blade into the stone and let some of her weight rest upon it. She looked around the foggy valley and up over the protection of the mountains. The moon was still illuminated overhead, though it was rapidly dimming with the rising of the Sun. She drew in a deep breath. Inside her chest was an ache, a pain as if something was missing, or maybe pressing into her. "Soon," she whispered, pressing bare fingertips to her breastplate. Her eyes fixed on the moon and she launched herself off the stairs, disappearing into the daybreak.

* * *

Up until a month before, the legendary Institute of War was something Diana had only heard about from others. Now she stood at the bottom of its impressive set of stairs. A wave of emotion sent a current through her spine; her chest ached and her heart felt like it were about to collapse under its sudden stress. A sickening feeling crept into her stomach, and Diana scoffed at her own panic. _Not panic_, Diana thought, _the fever pitch of anticipation._

Diana turned her head; Champions and Summoners alike walked up the stairs around her. Diana dug her cuspids into the tip of her tongue. _Relax. You can do this. You're the Scorn of the Moon, you can do anything. _Her free hand roamed to the back of her neck where she squeezed the skin. With a sigh, she lowered the hand and ascended the stairs. When she passed through the doors of the Institute, she screamed on the inside in excitement, but kept her face stoic.

The lobby of the Institute was almost homely, yet still held the war-like atmosphere Valoran was once familiar with. The center of the lobby was crowned by a semi-circle of panels on which each of the Fields of Justice was displayed. On the walls hung large banners from each of the city-states; some smaller banners hung about the lobby, bearing the crests of independent factions and Champion role insignias. It was the latter she took interest in, particularly eyeing the Mage and Fighter banners. In a preliminary visit the month before, the head Summoners determined her fighting style best fit these two roles. Diana agreed with being classified as a Mage, but thought of herself an Assassin over a Fighter; she was mobile, able to give chase or obliterate an enemy carry and get out of harm's way before her target could so much as breathe. She was a nimble, albeit strong, Champion, not a burly brawler.

"Diana!" Her name turned the Lunari's head toward the sound and was greeted by one of the Head Summoners.

"Summoner Daemon," she responded with a slight bow of her head.

Daemon approached her, a hand extended, but he quickly reclaimed it when Diana only returned the gesture with an expressionless face. "Well," he said, placing the hand behind his back, "I am pleased to see you here. I trust you are ready to go to the Fields?" When Diana nodded, her turned and made a motion with his hand. "Come, today's matches will not begin for another hour. Allow me to give you another tour and show you your residence. Remind me, Diana, do you belong to any of the city-states?"

"No, I am a Lunari, an independent faction."

Daemon made a slight sound and started for one of the two corridors leading out of the lobby. "Come," he repeated, and Diana obeyed. As she walked behind the Summoner, dozens of pairs of eyes latched onto her, some of which she met with a hard stare.

Daemon led her around the Institute of War, explaining and telling stories about some of the areas, though Diana barely listened. She remembered most of the Institute's rooms from her previous visit; there was an extensive library, four residential wings, each of which held by two city-states, save for the last which was for independents; the recreational area was extensive, having contained two training rooms, a firing range and a pool. She found the last area, the Tribunal wing, to be the most intriguing. The Head Summoners, along with a few select Champions, resided here and cast occasional judgment on Champions and Summoners alike. When Daemon caught the Lunari looking curiously around the red and gold walls, he said, "Pretty as it may look, I hope I never see you in this place again." The only places the Summoner did not lead Diana was the dungeon and infirmary, but she found no reason to complain.

They circled back to the residential wings to the independents' hall. Daemon pulled a ring of keys from his belt, thumbing through them until he found the one he wanted—a key with '102' engraved on it—and pulled it from the ring. When they came to the corresponding door, he unlocked it and handed the key to the Lunari. "This is your room," he said, extending an arm inside as a gesture to allow her into the room first. She took a few steps in, her grey eyes searching over the small room; it almost bore semblance to her room in the Solari village in regards to its furnishings. _Perhaps I'll bring some of the things from my temple,_ she thought idly.

"You may use this room and its facilities any time you wish. Unless you are under punishment from the Tribunal or in the event of a Tournament, you are permitted to come and go from the Institute as you please, so long as your matches for the day are completed. Understood?" Diana gave a curt nod, her eyes still wandering around the room. "Your first match will not begin for some time. If you wish you may return to the lobby to watch a match on the Rift."

Diana turned her head slightly, a cold eye on the Summoner. "I'd like that. Who will be fighting first?"

"I am unsure; I've yet to check the schedules for the day."

Diana's chest quaked with a deep intake of breath. A nagging pain crept into the back of her skull and she swallowed. "There is only one person I wish to observe, Summoner." Her back was still turned to Daemon, but she could feel his interest pique.

"Oh?"

"The Radiant Dawn," Diana said, suppressing a horrific smirk from forming across her lips. Her fingers clenched eagerly at her blade's hilt. "She and I are," she paused, her head tilting upwards for a brief second as she tried to find the proper word. "…_companions._"

"Come, we can return to the lobby to check the schedule."

Diana returned to the lobby alone; Daemon suddenly found he was needed elsewhere in the Tribunal wing and parted from the Lunari. A number of fellow Champions stood about the lobby, some conversing amongst each other, some with their Summoners, and others with their attention on the panels at the center of the lobby. Through the crowd and noise of people she caught glimpses of movement and sound coming from them and she made a path for the largest and most popular panel, it seemed; Summoner's Rift. By the looks of it the match had just started and the Champions of each team were making their way down their respective lanes.

"This should be a good one," came a voice from behind Diana; she could not help but listen to the conversation that ensued.

"Oh yeah?" Another voice. "How much you want to bet on Blue Team?"

"Nah, Purple's got this."

"Why?"

"Look at this crowd control. Ya got Hecarim with his Onslaught of Shadows, Graves, Prince Jarvan, Fiddles, Janna. This is going to be over before it starts."

A pause. "They lack a bit of damage, don't you think?"

The other scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Have you _seen _Hecarim at top speed? And there is so much potential initiation from a Jarvan ult followed by Hecarim's into a Fiddles ult. Do you have any idea how devastating that's going to be?"

"Doesn't matter, they have Leona."

"You're kidding, right? She's going to get blown to pieces."

"Ah, but one does not simply kill Leona, or her allies."

The conversation flittered into bickering between which team would win, but Diana stopped listening the moment Leona's name was said. Her grey eyes darted across the panel and, sure enough, Leona was on the bottom lane, idly standing at the outermost turret with Ashe, the Frost Archer. The rest of their teammates were camped in the brush outside of their Ancient Golem camp; Nasus was chosen to hold top lane, Kayle occupied the middle lane, and Volibear was chosen in response to the spectral centaur. _A good team,_ Diana thought. _Incredibly tanky, however._ Of course, Diana knew that the composition of their team meant little; she was well aware from watching them the month before that all of them, especially in the control of the right Summoner, could easily dish out as much damage as they could take.

"_Minions have spawned."_

"Oi, Leona," The screen switched back to bottom lane with the noise; the Radiant Dawn's head turned to look down the lane, into the Fog of War. From the very edge of it stood Graves, gun in hand. "The dawn can kiss my ass!" He spit on the ground next to him.

Leona's face dropped and she looked to the Frost Archer. "I'm getting you First Blood on this fool."

Ashe smiled and held her head up. She held out a hand and drew the vapor in the air to form an ice arrow. "You always do."

The match ran its course, and Diana spent little attention to actually enjoy it, opting instead to study the Solari. Leona had, indeed scored Ashe First Blood only minutes after the first minion wave plowed mindlessly through their lane. It did not take long after the kill for Hecarim to make an appearance, landing a Devastating Charge on the Frost Archer. The Solari quickly intervened, launching herself toward the centaur and stunning him. When Graves and Janna caught up to join the clash, a glow surrounded the Solari, which slowly waned into darkness. Diana's lips twitched.

_"It's almost as though the moon is protecting the sun, if only for a moment."_

_Leona, you hypocrite._

If Diana had anything kind left to say about her former friend, it was that Leona had grown much stronger than she was a year prior. She could faintly remember how the Solari used to complain how the armor felt loose on her frame; that did not seem the case anymore. Leona's face had changed from being soft to slightly more angular. It amazed Diana how much her rival had changed in what seemed like a short amount of time, and although Leona appeared more intimidating than she had in the past, she was sure Leona was still the same in her heart.

When Blue Team emerged victorious after a grueling half hour, the Champions returned to their bases and exited the Rift. The Champions entered the lobby, still bloody and covered with mud. When Diana's eyes shot over to find Leona, she saw she was not paying any attention; she was looking at the helmetless Judicator to her right, who was discussing something about the Rift while she preened scarlet feathers with her free hand. When both heads turned to the left to regard the Frost Archer, both women smiled at the Freljordian; Diana assumed it was to congratulate her on a cross-map snipe she managed early in the game. Diana moved from the thick of the crowd. When she did this, she saw from the corner of her eye that Leona's head had again turned, but hitched halfway and suddenly she felt the heat of Leona's stare.

Diana averted her gaze entirely, an ache rising in her chest, her heart beginning to race. She made for the corridor leading into the belly of the Institute. She managed to get about halfway there.

"Who is that woman?" she heard the voice of the Frost Archer say.

"That's the new Champion," Kayle answered, "The Scorn of the Moon."

"Oh my gods." Leona; Diana cringed.

"That's some sort of title."

"Diana?"

She stopped cold in her tracks, shoulders visibly tensing, and turned. All three of the women were looking at her, though Leona wore the most confusion. Diana drew a deep breath and tightened her grip on her blade, setting its curve upon her shoulder. She watched as the Solari's face began to turn livid, and she narrowed stormy eyes in response. "Surprised to see me, Solari?"

"What do you think you're doing here, heretic?" Leona spat, visibly tensing.

The corners of Diana's lips twitched with agitation. _It was only a matter of time, I suppose._ "That's not a very nice word. Then again, I remember you lived in the society that practically _invented_ that term."

"Answer me." Leona's brows furrowed in frustration, nearly meeting each other. A hand tightened around the hilt of her sword to which Kayle took notice and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Control yourself."

"You're not happy to see me?" Diana tilted her head slightly to the side. She waited a moment, but the other did not respond. Diana began to make careful steps toward the Solari. "You know why I'm here," she continued, a few feet from Leona. "I'm here, simply, for you. I'm here to show all of Runeterra how strong the moon is." Diana reached out with her free hand to take the Solari's chin. "The moon's light reaches all of Runeterra. So too must the image of its Champion."

With this statement the Solari lunged forward, or would have, had it not been for Kayle's quick reaction to detain the woman by the arms. "Save your vigor for the Fields, both of you." Cerulean eyes burned into Diana, making her turn her stone gaze away. Stained wings unfurled as the Judicator forcefully pulled Leona a few steps back from the Lunari, effectively making Diana release her. As they turned and walked away, Kayle kept her wings spread so that they prevented Leona from viewing Diana.

"_The second match on the Rift will begin in three minutes_," a voice announced; it seemed to Diana it was coming from every direction. "_Summoners, select your Champions to report to the summoning platform immediately._"

A tingling sensation crept in Diana's spine and into her limbs. She looked down to her arms, which were emanating a faint purple glow. "This is queer," she muttered.

"You're being summoned," said a flat, monotone voice. Diana looked up and before her stood a black-haired woman. Her eyes were covered by opaque red lenses and a huge crossbow was strapped to her back. Like Diana, a faint purple glow radiated from her limbs. "Come with me." She turned, red cape making a gentle sweep on the floor. Diana obeyed silently, following her toward the corridor she had seen Leona, Ashe and Kayle exit moments before. Eight other Champions, some emanating purple light and others blue, were also walking into the corridor.

"You must be Diana," the woman said, giving a slight turn of her head to regard her. "I am Shauna Vayne, though I highly prefer you refer to me simply as Vayne." Diana did not respond, though she made a mental note of the preference before they entered the battlefield. They entered the corridor which was lit up sparsely on either side by braizers. In front of them the Lunari could make out to figures, both women and one taller than the other. One had a series of small capes hanging off the back of her armor and her hair was cropped short and black. The other was a blonde and in her hand she held what Diana assumed was a wand that was illuminated on each end.

"I really don't see how it's possible for you to so easily damage your opponents with that skinny little thing."

A scoff came from the other woman. "Luxanna, please. If it wasn't for that bind of yours and godsawful thing you call a 'spark,' any other Champion could easily run you through."

"Must you two argue before we even get on the Rift?" Vayne snapped. There was no response from either of them save for a "Hrmph" from the shorter of the two. "Be warned, Diana. Summoners think it fun to put rivals on the same team. Thank gods there's no friendly fire permitted."

_I regret the day I have to be on the same team as Leona, no matter how valuable an asset she may be. _"It's almost a shame there isn't, don't you think?"

"I suppose it would be quite the spectacle."

The end of the corridor brought them to a circular room which contained two platforms, one purple and one blue. All nine of the other Champions stood on their respective platforms. When Diana took her place on Purple Team's platform, she felt as though she had been locked into place and a chiming noise began. "Good luck on your first match, Diana," Vayne said; Diana turned her head to look at her. "By the looks of it you'll be against Ryze."

"Thanks." Diana responded flatly, averting her gaze to her feet. The glow on the Champions' bodies began to intensify and in a sudden flash they were sent to their respective bases on Summoner's Rift. Diana's teammates—Vayne, Lux, Fiora and Shyvana— bought their starting items and promptly exited the base. When the shopkeeper saw her, he quickly turned to rummage in the wagon behind him. He finally turned around, holding two red potions in one hand and a ring in the other.

"Always nice to see a fresh face," the man said, holding them out to her. "Go on, take 'em an' get to your lane." Diana took them; she turned the ring over in her fingers, observing it a moment before slipping it on her finger. She fastened the potions to the front of her bodice and took her position on mid lane.

When she arrived at her outermost turret, she crouched down in front of it, waiting for the first minion wave. Her grey eyes peered around into the brush leading into the jungle, then up to the dim sky. She drew a breath and the oppressiveness in the air was next to overwhelming, but strangely she found it to her liking. Diana's fingers twitched eagerly, her muscles becoming taut throughout her body. She could not quite tell if her excitement stemmed from her own mind, from that of her Summoner, or if the feeling was a mixture of both. Either way, Diana was ready to throw herself into battle.

The first eight minutes of the game was uneventful. In that time both teams had ganked top lane, First Blood was drawn by Vayne and Diana managed to whittle Ryze down to the point of making him leave for base twice. Both times her Summoner's voice rang in a frustrated tone inside her head, cursing as the mage got away and Diana refused to dive under the turret for him. _Patience, Summoner, _she reassured. _Let one more wave go through. I'll show you what I'm capable of._

Her Summoner went quiet as he sent her back to base, allowing Diana to renew her supplies. As Diana made it back to her lane, she felt slightly in more control than she had been previously. In her absence, Ryze had pushed the lane almost all the way to her turret. She casted a single arc of lunar energy, instantly clearing at least half of the minions that huddled around one another. _Watch closely, Summoner._ Diana stalked around the remaining minions, her eyes darting back and forth between Ryze and their minion waves. She cleaved the remainder of them away. "Ryze, would you like to hear a joke?" she casually asked, cleaving a siege minion.

"I have no time for your jokes," the mage answered, clearing some of Diana's minion wave; Diana took a few steps back.

"Oh, I think you'll enjoy this one," she said, fingers tightening around her blade. "What did the moon say to the light bulb?" Ryze gave her a look that was mixed somewhere between confusion and anger, but before he could give a smart remark, Diana sent out another bolt of energy toward the caster, which hit him, and launched herself directly into him. The golden veil of her shield surrounded her, and she watched as two of the three orbs surrounding her hit the mage. She struck him once across the back as he turned with her blade. As she recoiled her weapon for a second strike, a static field surrounded her opponent and he began to flee from his attacker. Diana slammed the tip of her blade into the ground, pulling him back, only to have the mage turn and lock her in place. He made haste to leave again, this time his Summoner using Flash, and Diana could hear her Summoner groan in her head. _Follow him. Don't Flash yet._ When the binding wore off, Diana sprinted down the lane; from the edge of the Fog of War came a line of fresh blue minions. _Watch me, Summoner._ The Lunari cast an arc of energy on the minions, then dashed to the last one she hit. By this time she was very close to Ryze's turret. _Just a few more seconds,_ she thought, her blade thrumming with a white glow. Ryze was just out of her reach.

_Now._

Her body was displaced forward and she sent another arc, this one barely hitting Ryze, and dashed for him. Again the caster tried to get away, but Diana secured the curve of her blade over his shoulder, pulling him close and ripping through his flesh. "Nice try, light bulb." He freed himself, but not before the Lunari managed another swing of her blade. She felt her Summoner cast Ignite on him and, her work finished, she quickly left the radius of the enemy turret, pulling up her shield to reduce the damage. As she walked back down her lane, she could feel the presence of her Summoner in her head.

_What was the joke?_

_There was none._

_"An enemy has been slain."_

* * *

Back in the lobby of the Institute, Leona watched the Rift match with a look of disbelief on her face, her arms crossed. Next to her stood Nasus, the Curator of the Sands. Both were still mussed from their previous match. Nasus' gaze shifted from the panel to Leona's face, and he tilted his head curiously. His ears swiveled and he returned his attention to the panel. The game had progressed slightly; it was now midgame, and despite Diana's efforts, she lost her lane's first turret a few minutes earlier. Both teams were now strafing around on mid lane, save Shyvana, who waited just out of view. When the half-dragon transformed, plowing into the entire enemy team, Diana rushed in, followed shortly by the rest of her team, and secured a triple kill in a matter of seconds.

A harsh breath from Leona pulled the Curator's attention to her again briefly. "She's very strong," he said simply.

A quiet laugh bubbled from Leona's chest. "She's _frightening._"

Nasus was silent a moment, his eyes observing the Lunari on the panel. "She bears some semblance to the woman that's been spotted all over Valoran. Same markings, same curve of the blade…"

"That's her," Leona said, stopping him from continuing. "That's Diana."

"Do you know this woman?"

Silence, then another deep breath. "No. I thought I did, a long time ago." Leona shook her head. "The Diana I knew is lost. You of all people would understand, wouldn't you, Curator?" Without another word and without waiting for the jackal to respond, Leona turned and walked away.

"Curious," Nasus growled, placing a clawed hand to his chin thoughtfully.

The match ended some time later with a close victory for Purple Team. Diana parted from the other Champions when she came to the mouth of the corridor. She made for the other corridor, intending to return to her room to relax. From the corner of her eyes she caught the Curator advancing on her and she automatically increased her pace. "Diana, wait," the jackal called, but Diana kept walking.

"I'm exhausted, please leave me be."

"I'd like to congratulate you on your game," Nasus added, easily catching up to the woman. "Your fighting style, your grace, your brutality, it's all very intriguing to watch."

Diana stopped this time, turning to give a hard stare at him. "What do you want?"

Nasus gave no response; his attention had turned to the blade Diana wielded. "That's a fascinating weapon. What is it crafted of?"

Diana recoiled a bit at the question, but her expression softened nonetheless. "I believe it's something called moonsilver," she held the blade up so that it rest in both her hands. "I am unsure where the substance comes from, however, or when it was crafted."

A noise curled from the Curator's throat. "May I see it?" Diana was reluctant for a moment, but slowly she raised the blade to the jackal. He took it carefully, hollow eyes traveling along the curve of the blade which was followed shortly by fingers. "It is very similar to some of the weapons of my homeworld."

"A khopesh," Diana said with a slight nod of her head. "Only it's double-edged. The inside of the curve is slimmer, making it easier to rip through flesh for dismemberment." She ran a finger gently over the inside of the blade, then held it up so Nasus could see; tiny droplets of blood oozed from a shallow cut. "The outside is better suited for cleaving."

"Almost like a scythe," Nasus continued, lowering the blade to hold it at his side. The curve of the blade was facing towards his body. A smirk crossed Diana's lips and she reached for his hand, turning the hilt of the blade in it.

"You're holding it wrong. You have to hold it so that your swings come into contact with the outer blade. trying to slash with the inside wont do you much good."

"Here," he said, holding the blade up again for Diana to take. "Nimble weapons don't belong in my hands, it seems." The Lunari took it and placed the blade on her shoulder. "If you don't mind my asking, what all exactly is the weapon capable of?"

Diana gave a light shrug of her other shoulder. "Several things, really." She lowered the blade to rest in both her hands again. "The hook on the end sometimes makes it a bit difficult to successfully cleave into something, but its utility more than makes up for it."

"In what ways?"

"Well," Diana shifted the blade in her hand. "I could, for example, do something like this," Diana swung the blade so that the curve settled over Nasus' shoulder, the hook pulling into his armor. "I could easily take off part or all of your pauldron, leaving a sensitive area of your body exposed. I could then easily take off your arm, or your head if I so wished."

Nasus tensed a bit, lifting a hand to gently remove the blade from his shoulder before Diana could do anything else. "I'm guessing you've had practice,"

"I have."

"Well," Nasus huffed, taking a slight step away from the Lunari. "I digress; I believe you were going to rest." Diana only nodded in response. "I often spend my spare time in the library. Perhaps you will pay me a visit some time?"

"I'll consider it," she said, turning. "It was nice chatting with you, Curator."

* * *

Diana returned to her temple that night. She went first to the shallow end of the lake, dug her blade into the dirt and sat on its bank. She removed bloody gauntlets and removed the sleeve covering her hands. "I'm home, children," she said quietly, dipping a hand into the water. A few seconds later cool scales and fins slid past it. Three carp—one white, one grey and one a mixture of white, black and orange—fought over the attention of her touch. She dipped her other hand into the water, her palm instantly becoming filled with a cool head, and her eyes searched through the dark pool. "Where are your brothers?" Diana's eyes shifted up and she made a relieved sound when three dorsal fins poked from the water a short distance away. "Never willing to share," she whispered, a smile crossing her lips. Diana remained sitting until the fish swam away. She then rose, retrieved her blade and entered the temple; she gave a slight regard to the cadaver's grave as she passed it.

Diana sent energy into her blade as she entered the dark temple, holding it so that she could see her path. When she came upon the altar Diana again dug the blade into the stone and knelt, her arms outstretched to her sides. "I found her," she whispered. "All the emotions, all the desire to crawl beneath her skin…I never knew time would only make me desire to slay her more."

"_In due time, Diana. All in due time."_

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading as always. If you liked it, why not leave a review? Got a question for me or about Ascend? Send me a PM or head on over to my tumblr to drop and ask._  
_

As always, love you guys.


	7. In My Clutches

As usual I forgot to mention a thank you to Stolenwarpig for the advice on Diana's weapon. I massively appreciate it; I knew a little about Diana's weapon, but I did some additional research before I began writing chapter 6. Actually I spent about an hour in custom matches with my camera zoomed all the way in to watch how Diana swings her weapon and just oh my gosh thank you. hopefully all that will serve some justice in this chapter.

I also thought Diana had some sort of maternal side to her, especially considering how alone and outcast she was as a child. Of course it makes Di's character more dynamic but aNYWAY.

This was a rather quickly written chapter (think I did the entire thing in a day) but it's about the full length I want it to be and with information essential to pushing the plot forward. So here ya go.

* * *

She ran through the village, covered in her fallen brother's blood, a look of desperation and horror in her pale eyes. She clutched his shield in one hand, his sword in the other. Eyes bored into her as she ran toward the temple; some tried to stop her, but she paid them no mind. The woman did not slow even as she climbed the stone steps to the temple.

"Elders!" she screamed upon entering the temple. She stopped, her knees finally buckling under her, and collapsed. The sword and shield clattered uselessly next to her and the sound of footsteps followed shortly after. "Avatar Zeno, he—"

"Where is he?" She failed to respond, her chest heaving in irregular, greedy breaths. Above her she could hear mumbling. She heard some of them mention the blood that stained her person and she could practically feel their fear. "Speak, Avatar!"

"He's dead," she finally choked, her head tilting up. She saw the elders' eyes fill with the same horror she had upon seeing the Solari avatar shoved onto his blade.

One of the elder's faces turned into a menacing scowl, and her heart began to sink. "You killed him, didn't you?"

"What?" Her brows furrowed at the accusation. "No, I loved my brother, I would never kill him!"

"His blood stains you, does it not?" the elder scoffed; she lowered her head again and she choked out a sob. Finally she nodded when asked a second time. "You killed him," a voice repeated.

"I did not!" she screamed, her head snapping up to look at the elders. Grey frantic eyes darted around their faces. "Zeno was ill! I tried to calm him down, tried to put an end to his madness," She shook her head, another sob escaping her throat. "He killed himself, I couldn't stop him."

"Yet you came here with his sword and shield."

"I did not kill my brother!" Her fists clenched and her body trembled. "Please, you have to believe me."

"It is very hard to believe otherwise, Avatar. This cannot go unpunished."

"You jest," she said, flinching away. She began to inch her way backwards. Her mind raced, her head hurt; she wanted to plead with them, wanted to show them what she had seen, but more than anything she wanted Zeno back. To her horror, one of the elders bent and took the Sun Warrior's sword and held it up. "Please, I don't wish to hurt any of you."

"Someone has to pay for his death, Avatar." The blade started to come down upon her and in an instant she rushed forward, vanishing and reforming behind the elder. Her arms held fast around his neck and head, and with a single twist he fell to the floor a cadaver. Another pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and she sharply turned, planting an elbow into a nose. She broke away before more could reach her and exited the temple. She ran through the village, adrenaline restoring her strength. Eyes latched onto her again. "Stop her! Stop that woman! She killed the avatar!"

"Brothers and sisters, flee from this place! Tell the others we're not safe here anymore!"

* * *

A harsh breath pulled Diana from her sleep. She panted, eyes shifting around uselessly in the dark. She reached to the side and groped until she found the hilt of her blade; it instantly became illuminated with a pale glow and she held it up. Again her eyes darted around the chamber, and when she saw nothing, her mind began to ease. Diana placed the blade back in its place beside her bed and the glow faded as her touch left it. She turned on her side and curled, her fingers clutching at the familiar warmth of the bear pelt cast over her.

_"This is why you fight, Diana. Don't be afraid."_

A sigh escaped Diana's lips and she pushed a hand through her hair. "I know." The Lunari was still for a while, but when an ache began to persist in her head, she sat up, threw the pelt from her and stood. With some effort she dressed and equipped her armor. When she finished she exited the chamber and went outside the temple. Diana stood on the top of the stairs; it was still dark outside, but she could make out the outline of the trees and lake. She idly fidgeted with her gauntlets, fixing them on her wrists, and flexed her fingers once she was satisfied.

That week had been more or less hellish for the Lunari. At the Institute she was summoned numerous times, often by a different Summoner each time, and put through nearly any kind of match a Summoner could ask for. There were good Summoners, bad Summoners, Summoners that only summoned her once and others that swore they had an affinity for her. Much to her delight she had not spent any of those matches with the Solari avatar on her team, but much to her dismay she had not fought against her either. Diana saw enough of her around the Institute, however; each brief look, whether mutual or otherwise, sent pangs of anger into her heart.

Leona had changed in that week; the icy eyes Diana saw on her first day at the Institute had melted into something much different, though Diana could not put a finger on what exactly it was. She had to wonder, but not care: was the Solari actually _suffering?_

The thing that disturbed the Lunari warrior the most, however, was her reoccurring dreams. It took her a while to realize that these dreams were, essentially, pulled from her ancestor's memory. They nonetheless disturbed and somewhat angered her.

"What exactly is it you want me to do?" she called out into the open air. She was graced with no response, save the chatter of birds and mewling of a distant animal. She sighed and ran a hand across her eyes, trying to drive the sleep from them. "It's too early for this crap," she muttered, brushing fingers through her hair.

* * *

The air on Summoner's Rift was incredibly oppressive; the sky boasted of a nearly complete overcast and the Fog of War seemed thicker than it usually did. As Diana made her way to Blue Team's Ancient Golem camp, a sickening feeling crept into her stomach, but she quickly beat it away.

Her most frequent Summoner had decided to try out a different role after a few tests. She was in the jungle this time. Her Summoner convinced her that she could be at her best here; she could be a silent force that stalked just out of reach, waiting in the tree line for a perfect ambush. Diana rather liked her place on mid lane, though she could not quite help but smirk at the idea of popping out of the brush to delete a helpless carry off the map. She could only imagine how terrifying it would be to watch a perfect arc of moonlight rip from the Fog of War.

Directly on the other side of the map, she suspected, sat Warwick and Leona at their Ancient Golem. Blue and Purple's ranged carries, Twitch and Ezreal, respectively, were sitting at their turrets; Taric accompanied the Plague Rat, sitting a short distance from him in the brush. Katarina was Purple's mid lane carry; Renekton held their top lane. Diana's mid and top laners were still at base, picking through items. She would have snapped at them if they still didn't have another minute before the match started.

Diana's foot kicked something and she stopped her stride. A stuffed bear rolled harmlessly a few inches away. Diana's brow furrowed and she picked it up by the arm. "What in the world…"

"Tibbers! There you are!"

Diana whirled around to see the Dark Child running through the fog, arms raised. "Annie," she said calmly, holding the bear up daintily in her fingers. "How did Tibbers get all the way out here when you haven't left base yet?"

"I don't know!" the girl whined. "I think I dropped him in my last game." Diana's brow rose. Annie flexed her fingers and her face became frustrated. "Gimme Tibbers, Moon Lady."

"I'll give him to you," Diana said, turning the bear in her hand. She pushed the tip of her blade into the dirt and traced a finger over button eyes. "You have to promise me a favor first, though." She crouched so that she was on eyelevel with Annie. "I heard that Leona _loves_ to play with Tibbers."

"She does?"

Diana nodded. "When Leona pokes her face in your lane, why don't you let her play with him? I'll come join you."

"Okay, just gimme Tibbers."

"Good girl." She held the bear out and it was instantly snatched away. Diana gave the girl a quick pat on her head and rose, pulling her blade from the earth and continuing on to the Ancient Golem camp. By the time she arrived, Riven had already come to help her. "Riven, if you don't mind me asking," she began, leaning on her blade. "How is it that you fight in a skirt?"

"Carefully," the exile responded, "Very, very carefully."

"Teach me sometime."

_"Minions have spawned."_

The golem spawned and the two set to dispatching it. Diana felt a frantic feeling in the back of her skull; it was coming from her Summoner. She killed the Ancient Golem and no sooner had she done this did the announcer's voice call over the dense air.

_"Ezreal has slain Twitch for First Blood."_

"Dammit, Leona."

"Already? That was fast."

"Go get in your lane before Renekton gets to your turret."

Riven nodded and jogged off. She half turned before she disappeared into the brush. "Have fun on bot lane."

Diana grumbled. "'Fun' isn't the word I would use." She roamed through the jungle, clearing a few more of the camps before making her way into the river toward bottom lane. Twitch was back in lane by this time and he had somewhat caught up with his opponents. When the Lunari saw how her teammates were pressed to their turrets, she decided to toss the idea of a river gank and start above the Dragon's Pit instead. She picked carefully around the vegetation as to not make much noise; she knew how deceptively strong Warwick's ears were. Any slight misstep could have alerted him of her position.

She crouched in the brush, fingers tightening around her blade and grey eyes piercing through the fog. Taric turned his head just slightly and their eyes met. Diana gave a small nod and the knight silently urged the Plague Rat to ease forward. The others started to push back and Diana hastily rose, rushing out of the Fog of War with a swing of her blade. The arc hit both Champions, which was quickly followed up by a toss of a venom cask. The Lunari easily caught up with Ezreal and she swung her blade, catching his left arm and tearing into it. She nearly succeeded in pulling the amulet from his hand until a well-executed Zenith Blade brought Leona smashing into her. The Solari carried her further after the initial skull bash with her shield, pressing her against the stone wall leading to the Dragon's Pit.

"Leona, help me!" The Solari's head turned and from over Leona's shoulder, Diana saw several tainted arrows jutting from the blonde's body. Blood stained his jacket and pants. Leona started to turn sharply to execute another Zenith Blade, but Diana, having regained her senses, snapped her arm up so that the hook of her blade caught the Solari by the pauldron. Her other arm locked around her neck, holding her in place as she ripped the metal from her and dug the hook into unprotected flesh. She pulled the weapon toward her in an attempt to sever the arm, pressing the blade into flesh. A sharp cry escaped Leona's throat; Diana could feel the vibration of the sound in her shoulder, and her heart began to pound loudly in her ears.

"If this is what it feels like to best you on the Rift," Diana growled, pulling harder on the blade; the warm rush of blood seeped over her fingers, "I can't imagine what it would feel like off the Fields."

_"An enemy has been slain."_

Diana pulled the blade from Leona's flesh and immediately the scent of blood was overwhelming. She reattached it at the other shoulder, cutting the leather buckles that held that pauldron in place. The hook dipped off the shoulder, squirming its way beneath the ornate metal plate that protected the Solari's upper back. After a few harsh tugs it was freed and it fell to the jungle floor with a thud. Hands clutched violently at her arms, shaking her and slamming her into the stone wall, but she refused to let go. Hundreds of voices screamed in unison within Diana's head, urging her forward, fueling the adrenaline rushing through her veins. "What would the Solari think of you now, Sun Avatar? Their glorious sun, felled by the traitorous moon," A hand clenched in red hair and she brought her lips to the Solari's ear. "You've highly underestimated me. I'm not a scared little girl anymore."

Three arrows found their way into Leona's back without much effort. Her body displaced from Diana's grasp; the Solari was bent halfway over, holding her shoulder as she slowly retreated backwards. Diana rushed forward, a yell tearing from her throat. Leona raised her shield in another attempt to stun her attacker, but the Lunari quickly sidestepped the action, hooking her blade around the bloody shield and ripping it from its owner. She quickly slammed the blade's tip into the dirt, drawing the wounded Solari back to her. Diana grabbed her, spinning her around so that the Solari's back was pressed into her. She held her weapon up to the Solari's neck and dragged it quickly across the flesh. A wet gasp escaped the sun warrior and Diana released her. Hands gripped uselessly at the torn flesh, her blood sullying her golden gauntlets. She fell to her knees with a loud thud, and then collapsed forward. Diana knelt, turning the Solari over and slipping a hand beneath the Solari's neck and pressing the other to the wound. She turned her head. "Twitch, come finish her." The rat complied, waddling over to the felled sun avatar and pointing his crossbow at her forehead. A shot was fired, and with a single convulsion, Leona became still.

_"Twitch has slain Leona for a double kill."_

Diana removed her fingers and pulled the arrow from the Solari's head. She raised her bloody hand to Leona's head and placed her index finger on her forehead, making an anointment. Diana stood and picked up her blade; tiny streams of blood rushed down its hilt. Without another word or acknowledgement to her teammates, she disappeared into the river.

* * *

When Diana exited the summoning platform, she could have sworn she was wearing more blood than was in her body. Most of it was dried on her armor and barely noticeable, save her the silver parts of her armor which were stained in a rusty color. She paid dearly for slaughtering the tank; as the game progressed it became much more difficult to fell the Solari, and each attempt to do so was punished by Leona's teammates.

"That's why you don't focus the tank," Riven told her after a respawn.

Despite taking a few deaths, Diana had, in the end, given the Exile and Annie quite a few kills, as well as snagging a few of her own. Warwick was nearly as relentless, and by midgame, Katarina was a pain to deal with; Diana had hardly enough time to rush to the assassin to land Moonfall on her to stop her Death Lotus before she slaughtered her team and popped Zhonya's Hourglass. Blue Team's Summoners eventually surrendered in the end.

Diana propped herself against a wall and ran a hand over her eyes. She kept it there, muttering to herself until she felt a tug on the tail of her bodice. She looked down warily; Annie was staring up at her. "What is it, child?"

"We never got to play with Tibbers, Moon Lady."

"Maybe next time, Annie." She turned and skipped away as though nothing on the Rift had ever happened. Diana sighed and tilted her head back. "Gods, I wish I were that carefree."

"You should be."

The Lunari tilted her head up again and found the Curator a few feet from her. "Nasus," she huffed, "It's very hard to be so at ease when your Summoners decide to quit on a game that could have easily been won."

Nasus gave a slight nod, hollow eyes shifting to the side for a split second. "True," he growled, "But that's exactly what that was: a game. There is no sense in prying over it." Diana shook her head in response, again rubbing her eyes. "Would you care to join me in the library? Perhaps chatting will ease your mind."

"Sure, let me just—" Diana pushed herself from the wall, fingers pressing over a brow. "Let me clean myself up first. It might take a while." The jackal tilted his head as he watched her stalk into the other corridor.

Diana entered the library almost an hour later; her armor was clean for the most part and only a few places on her remained stained a dark red. The Lunari eventually became frustrated from the process, telling herself she would finish cleaning it when she returned to the temple later that night.

"Ah, Diana." Her head snapped to the right and saw the jackal sitting in a cushioned red chair, book in hand, which he closed upon seeing the Lunari. Across from him sat a sofa of the same material and between the two a coffee table; two porcelain cups and a tea pot were perched upon it. He plucked a pair of glasses from his nose and carefully folded the arms, then set them and the book on a side table. "Please, have a seat." Nasus held a clawed hand out to regard a sofa sitting across from him. Diana complied, easing back against the furniture and folding a leg beneath her. The other leaned forward, taking a teapot off the glass coffee table and filling both cups with tea.

Diana leaned forward once he finished, retrieving the cup nearest to her. She held it up to her face for a few moments, allowing the scent to fill her nose and the warmth to seep into her hands. Her eyes peered around to the countless bookshelves lining nearly every inch of wall space. Her eyes finally lowered and she raised the cup to her lips, taking a single drink. "Thank you." She leaned back into the furniture again. "I'm surprised you allow drink in this place."

"I keep the library and I do spend much of my time here," Nasus replied, "If I so wish to have tea here, it will be here." He watched as Diana gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Leona tells me you're very inquisitive."

The Lunari scoffed. "I'm sure that's not the only thing she tells you," she took another draft of the tea. "But it's true. I usually find some sort of comfort in books. I spent most of my childhood in a library studying."

"Actually, Diana, Leona is one of the reasons I asked you here." He watched Diana's face drop into a scowl. "I'm curious of how you two came to be so bitter towards one another."

"There's not much to it, Curator," Diana said, tracing a finger around the rim of her cup. "I ascended, killed people, now she despises me."

"I believe there is much more to it than that." Nasus leaned so that one elbow was propped on the arm of his chair. "I've watched nearly all of your matches, and out of all of them, the one you shared with the Radiant Dawn was the one you were most…" he paused, trying to find the right word. "Reckless." He paused again as if expecting a sharp remark, but when Diana gave none he continued. "Each time you came to face Leona, there was a resentment in your eyes you carry for no one else on the Rift."

"I hate her. What's your point, Nasus?"

"You would not despise her so bitterly if you did not first love." Diana recoiled in her seat. "You may put yourself to be a fierce, cold warrior, but deep within you lingers something much softer."

"I'm human. Your point?"

"You're also very maternal,"

"I'm also a woman, Nasus. Your point, please?"

"Yes, but your actions stem much further than instincts." An impatient look crept across Diana's face. "Most women have those instincts strengthened during their childhood from the affection they receive from their mothers. When one grows up without a mother, one of two things may happen: they lack a maternal bond or they gain one that is fueled by the affection they never received as a child. The second is a bit of a paradox,"

"Obviously," the Lunari interrupted.

"Your interactions with the Dark Child were quite interesting to watch," the Curator continued, "Most people fear her because of her bear, Tibbers. You're one of the first people I've witnessed that has not had any sort of fear about them when confronting her."

Diana shrugged. "She's a child. Why would I fear her? I mean, yes, Tibbers is quite terrifying, but I don't have fear for Annie."

"Do you sympathize with her?"

Diana drew a deep breath, nails tapping against her cup as she thought. "Yes," she finally answered, looking directly at the other. "What does all of this have to do with the Solari?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I suspect Leona was one of the only sources of female companionship you had for quite some time."

"Nasus, I don't appreciate my mind being delved into."

"I only wish to understand." Nasus straightened in his chair. "Answer the question."

Diana slid her tongue across her teeth. She took a drink from her cup to prolong the answer, an ache bubbling in the back of her head. "Yes."

"Sometimes love can cause us to hate someone more than a person we barely know," Nasus continued. Diana's eyes narrowed. "It could be love between sisters, bothers, friends, family—anything, really. My point, Diana, is that at some point you loved one another in some form. What happened, and why do you pursue her so vehemently?"

Diana's eyes shifted away from the jackal, her fingers clenching at the porcelain cup. "I thought that, no matter what happened after I found the Lunari temple, she would accept me. She always had; why would she stop?"

"Why did she stop, Diana?"

"I was going to be executed for what I found. I prayed to the moon, I became ascended, I killed the elders." Diana drew a deep breath. "And when I saw Leona, I felt this—this urge, this primal rage, telling me I had to kill her as well."

"Yet you didn't."

"I wasn't physically ready to kill her," Diana defended. "Now every time I look at her my heart aches with rage, my fingers twitch and my head aches. It echoes with all these voices, telling me to kill, or they scream as though they are being killed."

Nasus raised a hand to rest on his chin thoughtfully. His brow furrowed. "Members of the Lunari?"

"You know of them?"

"I spend my time in a library. You learn a few things after a while."

Diana swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I think it's the Lunari."

"You've become a vessel for their souls, or perhaps something of the sort." The jackal grazed a claw along his jaw. "What exactly will killing Leona bring you, Diana?"

Diana was silent a moment, fingers tensing around her cup. Her grey eyes had shifted down, looking away from the Curator. She finally leaned forward, set the cup back on the table, stood, and exited the library.

* * *

AN: I think I might have to bump up the rating on this fic to M because I'm pretty sure most of the fight scenes are going to be bloody and a bit..gory to say the least. Anyway, I published this early because my college classes are going to be starting up soon so I'm not sure if I'm going to have much tme to write next week. Hope you guys enjoyed it.


	8. Ask Not The Sun

AN: HERE YA GO HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER BEFORE MY CLASSES START.

This chapter is probably going to be reaaaaally boring. Sorry. :C I kind of had a heart attack with this chapter because I thought Microsoft Word crapped out and DELETED like 4k words but then I found the autosave thingy and I was a happy anubis.

As always thank you guys for all the love, I love reading your reviews so much. /)owo(\

I was so tired I forgot line breaks. GG.

* * *

Diana counted each strand of platinum as it fell off her fingertips. "I always knew my mind was somewhere on the deep end," she said, stretching her legs to place her heels on the far arm of the sofa, "But I never thought I'd actually be consulting someone about it."

"I am not here to judge you, Diana." Nasus replied. He sat in his chair, one ankle propped upon his other knee. "To do so would be detrimental."

"I've been judged my entire life. You wouldn't be hurting my feelings if you did, Curator."

"I much like my head where it is."

Diana gave a small laugh. "You're a smart man. I like that."

Three days had passed since Diana first set foot in the library. The day after Nasus confronted the Lunari, asking her to come to the library any time she felt the need to talk. Diana surprised the jackal by turning up in the library each day.

"On the subject of judgment," Nasus continued, resituating himself in his chair, "What was your childhood like?"

Diana gave an inward sigh, placing her hands clasped together on her stomach. "It sucked, that's about it."

"Details, Diana," the jackal urged, "What about Leona?"

Diana's thumbs fidgeted. She blinked wordlessly for a few minutes at the decorated ceiling, thinking to herself. "I'm not really sure where to start," she finally answered, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Up until Leona came to the Solari village, it was always, 'Diana, do this; Diana, don't do that; Diana, you shouldn't be reading that'. I tried keeping to myself, I tried to reason with people, but no one would ever listen to me. I was beaten, yelled at, just so many things." She paused; from the corner of her eye she saw Nasus shift to lean on the arm of his chair, chin perched on his knuckles. "And when Leona came it just kind of…" Diana paused again, biting her lip for a moment. "It stopped, mostly. That stupid Solari, that Rakkorian, she was the first to say, 'I'm not letting this shit happen to you'."

"She never showed you any resentment, not even when you first met?"

"Never, but that's how Leona is; she was born to protect. I liked that about her, admired it." A small laugh rose from her chest. "I remember wanting to be as strong as she was, mentally and physically. Gods, she was just so perfect, if not clumsy. She was everything I wanted to be."

"Minus the clumsy part?

A smirk crossed Diana's lips. "Yeah."

"How did your opinion of Leona change after your ascension?"

The Lunari gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I barely had any contact with the world after I retreated to the temple. All I knew is that Leona despised me for what I done." Diana shook her head. "She would never understand, her nature forbids it, forbids to accept death as a proper punishment. What else could I have done? The elders were going to kill me."

"Did you consider disarming them?" Nasus prompted, which made the Lunari look over at him sharply. "I don't mean to say your actions were completely in the wrong; you were defending yourself."

"I don't think I had the capacity to do anything other than kill them."

"Elaborate."

A growl came from the Lunari. "From time to time I hear this voice in my head; not the Lunari, it's a distinctive female voice. I can only assume it belongs to the previous Lunari avatar. I heard her at my ascension; she told me what these people took from me, told me people had to pay for the incompetence of the Solari. There was this overwhelming sense of rage, and I couldn't stop myself." Diana released a contented sigh and her eyes slowly closed. "Seeing their blood splattered across the floor…gods, it was so beautiful."

Nasus leaned forward and plucked a book and pen from the coffee table. He opened the book and clicked the pen, then began to scribble something down. "And has this voice ever told you to commit any other executions?"

Diana's eyes opened and her head turned to look at the jackal. "Only in the name of the Lunari."

"Diana, how many people do you think you've killed since your ascension?" Hollow eyes shifted up from the book for a split second to regard her.

Diana shrugged and stretched, her back arching off the cushions of the sofa for a few seconds. "I traveled all over Valoran hunting people down. I eventually lost count."

"Do you have an estimate?"

"Probably around sixty, if I had my guess. There's a good chance I've killed more."

A noise curled from the Curator's throat. "All of them had connection to the Solari?"

"Yes."

"If you were hunting down members of the Solari for their 'atrocities,' why did you not pursue to kill Leona?" An arm folded beneath Diana's head. She was silent as she tried to find an answer, but there was none to give. She finally turned her gaze to again look at Nasus, who shared her stare. "You said this voice has told you to pursue members of the Solari. Have there been any other times other than your ascension she has told you to kill Leona?"

"Not directly."

"Then why do you pursue to kill her? What wrong has Leona done?" Nasus was given a blank stare; again Diana could not answer his question. The jackal closed the book and placed it on his lap, the pen clipped to its cover. "Perhaps you wish to punish her for something she did to you."

Diana's eyes closed and a pained expression crept onto her face. "She wasn't there when they tried to execute me. She promised me nothing was going to happen." Fingers balled into fists on her stomach. "What better way to show Runeterra the strength of the moon than to kill the sun?"

"Not every death or action can be prevented. To think Leona could stop something simply because she is the sun is borderline crass," Nasus replied; a growl escaped the Lunari. "Don't you think Leona would have tried to stop it if she were there to do so?"

"Would I have become ascended if she had?" Diana countered, though no malice was in her voice; it was simply a question. "Nasus, what is it to be ascended?"

Nasus gave a small sigh, a claw reaching behind his ear to graze along skin. "Ascension is an act that lies within each of us, but not everyone is fortunate enough to become ascended. To be ascended is to attain a higher sense of oneself, to become more than the body we were given. What one decides to do with his or her ascension is up to them."

Diana's eyes opened again; stone eyes bored into the other. "What do you think I should do?"

"You want my honest opinion?"

"Of course."

Nasus leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. His face was expressionless, stoic. "Stop your pursuit to kill the Radiant Dawn. It will do nothing but bring you pain in the end, and continue the cycle the Solari started when they committed genocide. Do you want that to happen?" The Lunari was silent, her lips parted slightly and brow furrowed. "Have you ever thought of what you're going to do once you kill Leona? What will be your purpose then?" Again, nothing. Nasus leaned back in his chair. "I think Leona is a source of power for you, something you feed off of. Have you ever heard the Ionian legend of the man and the two koi fish?"

Diana shook her head. "Entertain me."

"At one time there was a secluded temple that taught only the most dedicated individuals the power of enlightenment. They focused these people, honed their ability to wield their minds as tools for good. In the center of this temple was a shallow pool holding two koi, one black, one white and representing the sun and moon, respectively. The students would sit around this pool with their fingers dipped into the water, feeling the power of the two forces working with each other; it was an exercise to teach them balance and order."

"So where does the man come in?" Diana interrupted impatiently.

Nasus gave a low growl. "Patience." Diana rolled her eyes. "One disciple," he continued, "spent much of his time with his hands in the pool. He would experiment, placing his hands on each end of the pool to test the power of the sun versus the moon koi, and then he wondered, like a fool, what would happen if one obtained the power of the sun?" He paused as he watched Diana slowly sit up, her arms propped on the arm of the sofa and legs curled beneath her body. "One night he decided to kill the sun koi, thinking it would give him the power of the sun. In the end, it gave him nothing. The white koi went into a frenzy upon its death and eventually died itself. "

The Lunari's brow raised and she perched her chin in her palm. "What happened to him?"

"He was executed for his insolence. Now, my point in telling you this is the same principle applies to you and Leona. You coexist; there cannot be one of you without the other."

Diana made a face. "So if I kill Leona I'll suddenly drop dead?"

"Not exactly," he replied with a slight laugh. "Whether you realize it or not, both of you play a role in life and death. The sun is all aspects life; conception, birth, growth and prosperity. The moon is the opposite; death, reflection, rest and rebirth. If there were no moon, the light would last forever. There would be no death, no time for peace or reflection; never-ending life."

"What's so bad about that?"

"The mortal body is only made for one lifetime. Putting it through several is callous." Nasus replied simply. "On the contrary if there were no sun, the night would be eternal and all of Runeterra would be covered in ice colder than that of the Freljord; eternal death. No dawn can come without darkness and vice versa, Diana. Do you understand?"

Diana drew a deep breath and she ran a hand across her eyes. A vein in her head throbbed incessantly. "Nasus, every time I see Leona, all I can think about is killing her. How in the hell am I supposed to not pursue her when I have all these things in my head telling me to do otherwise?"

"Willpower," Nasus answered, shoving himself up to stand. "Spend some time around her, if at all possible; try to control your urges." He began for the door; Diana made no move to follow him. "Just remember, the League prevents you from physically harming her outside the Fields. Use that as incentive."

* * *

The day progressed slowly; the two Rift matches Diana was summoned to play were uneventful. One ended in a one-sided victory, the other ended in surrender. She took no pride in the victory; it obviously was not well-earned. She took the surrender bitterly, however, like she always did. To Diana it was the ultimate waste of time and energy to give up on a game they could have easily turned around. _Foolish Summoners,_ she thought to herself with a shake of her head.

She spent much of the remainder of her day in the lobby, spectating the games Leona was scheduled for. She was sure this was not what Nasus had in mind when he told her to spend time around the Solari. _This is safer,_ she told herself, _Safer for both of us._

The nagging pain in her heart remained, however, each time the camera shifted to find the Radiant Dawn. Each Zenith Blade, each Eclipse and Solar Flare and Shield of Daybreak made her want to launch herself into that game. _Where is this rage coming from?_

_"It's in your heart, Diana. Can't you feel it?"_

Diana drew a deep breath and swallowed. _It consumes me._

_"Let it." _There was a pause; Diana's fingers twitched on the hilt of her blade. Her body felt heated and she could feel each slow aching beat in her chest. _"Feels good, doesn't it?"_

_No._

_"Don't you want to avenge your brethren? Avenge me?"_

Diana ran a hand across her eyes, turning from the panel momentarily. _I have to look; I have to stop this ache._ She turned back to the panel, eyes focusing on the Solari. As she watched, she began to notice small things that were different about her; her posture, for example, was a bit more relaxed, her shield was lower and held slightly away from her person. Her Zenith Blades that were almost always impeccable became—dare she say— lazy and used without discretion. Leona was legendary for saving teammates with it, though she barely managed to do so. In the back of her mind, Diana hoped it was the fault of a Summoner.

When the game ended in a close victory for Leona's team, all ten Champions returned to their bases and exited the Rift, save the Sun Avatar. Diana watched curiously as she sat on the steps of the fountain; Ashe stopped briefly at her side and the Solari looked up, muttered something and sent the Frost Archer on her way. Leona's hand went to her eyes, rubbing them warily. When the hand pulled away, golden eyes peered around the base as if lost, then looked up, and Diana froze. It was almost as though the Solari was looking directly at her. Heat rose in her chest and her heart began to race. Her head throbbed and a screeching noise tore across her brain. The panel finally went blank and suddenly a pressure released itself from Diana's chest; she had been holding her breath.

Diana frantically turned, panting as she walked from the semi-circle of panels. She made her way over to the far wall where she sat on a stone bench. _Gods, what is this?_ she thought to herself. Diana bent halfway over, elbows on her knees; one hand covered her mouth and the other arm rest across her legs. Her eyes were wide and her body was tense. A sickening feeling tossed her stomach. _She was looking right at me…wasn't she? She isn't supposed to see me from the Rift. _The hand that held her mouth movedto her forehead. _Breathe, Diana, just breathe. This isn't going to go away all at once._

"Excuse me, Diana?" That voice; too calm, too sweet. Diana's head snapped up and before her stood the Frost Archer. Her cowl was down and hair as white as fresh snow framed a painfully sculpted face.

"What do you want, Ashe?" she replied coldly, stormy eyes narrowing.

The Freljordian Queen looked down and fingers pulled at each other as though she were afraid to speak. "I was wondering, have you noticed anything different with Leona lately?"

_So it wasn't her Summoner, _the Lunari thought.

Diana scoffed, but on the inside she felt a pang in her chest at the question. "She and I are rivals. Do you think I would care about her wellbeing?" She made a mental note to slap herself later.

"I keep up with my rivals," Ashe replied, taking a seat beside the Lunari. "Sejauni and I aren't too fond of one another, but if anything were to happen to her, I'd always lend her aid."

"Avarosan, that's who you are. You're kind and forgiving, painfully so," Diana replied, pressing her fingers over her brow. In some ways, Ashe almost reminded her of Leona. _Maybe that's why they get along so well,_ she thought. "In the end, you're still rivals."

"Maybe we won't be rivals forever. Maybe one day Sej will get it through her thick skull that Freljord is better under one ruler." The Frost Archer leaned forward, an elbow on her knee and her chin resting in her hand. Her head was tilted so that she looked at Diana.

Diana's brow creased. "Your dream for a united Freljord has failed. You tried once; not even marriage could bring that wretched tundra under one banner."

"Freljord is a city-state. I think that's an accomplishment." Ashe kept a cool tone about her, icy blue eyes unwavering. Diana groaned at her response. "I know that Sejauni despises me, but when we share a game together, I work with her, not because I have to, but because I know she's a strong ally." Ashe paused a few seconds to brush a strand of her hair from her face. "You don't care about Leona at all?"

Diana sighed. "No, not in the slightest." The Lunari pushed herself up. She dragged her blade from its resting place and set it upon her shoulder. _I need some room to breathe,_ she thought, turning from the archer to part ways.

"Don't lie to yourself, Diana."

Diana froze, tensing in her skin. A pained expression crossed Diana's face and she was thankful the other could not see it. It took her a few minutes to regain her senses, but once she had, she walked as calmly as she could manage across the lobby to the corridor.

When Diana was out of view of the lobby, she broke into a sprint, heading straight for her room. The pain in her chest grew and her head throbbed with thoughts of Leona and the elders and _violence_. _I have to stop this,_ she thought, _I can't let this happen, I can't let this go on._ All the while she turned around corners, Ashe's voice rang clear in her head.

_"Don't lie to yourself, Diana."_

_I'm not lying, I swear I'm not. _

_"Don't lie to yourself."_

_Shut up! Just shut the hell up!_

As Diana rounded the corner to the independent's hall, she suddenly ran into someone and the metallic _clank_ of metal rang in her ears. Hands caught themselves around her arms as though by instinct and heat rose in Diana's chest. Her brows creased in anger and her fingers clenched into fists. "Let me go, you insolent—"Cruel eyes shifted up, only to be met with golden pools. Diana's countenance dropped and suddenly she felt small; the heat within her dissipated, her fingers eased. Diana's lips were parted, the lashing sentence lingering. "Solari," she finally choked breathlessly.

_"Kill her, she's weak."_

Diana's fingers clenched again. She repressed the rising anger in her, forcing herself to stare into the battered Solari's expressionless face. Much to Diana's surprise, it was Leona who broke the stare first, then her grip on the Lunari. Diana quickly turned and put as much distance as she could between them, going straight for her door. Shaky fingers pried at the door knob, and she cursed at herself when she failed to turn it. She finally managed to open the door.

"Diana?"

Again the Lunari froze, fingers clenching over the metal doorknob. She slowly turned her gaze to look at the Solari, who returned the gaze with a somber stare. Diana waited for Leona to say something else; a harsh word, an insult, an apology, anything, but nothing came. Diana's brows furrowed as she stared, a sinking feeling creeping into her stomach. Finally the other turned her eyes away, entering into a room. Diana's heart caught within her and she slumped against the door frame. The rage within her slowly dissipated and after a few breathless moments she stumbled into her room.

* * *

The Lunari's mind was still reeling when she returned to her temple later that night. A persistent ache pulled inside her head and no matter how close she felt to sleep, she could never do so. Frustrated, Diana finally rose and exited the temple. She went to the lake and sat cross-legged on its bank; she placed her elbows on her legs and her head in her hands. Thin fingers pushed their way through platinum hair, stopping at the back of her skull to rub tiny circles into her scalp. A sigh built in her chest and pain collected there. She seethed, both hands clenching in her hair.

_"What troubles you, child?"_

A half-hearted laugh escaped Diana's lips. "The Solari," she answered quietly, grey eyes shifting to the water; the pale moon was reflected on its shaky surface. "And my head," she added. "All these noises, all these voices. They've always urged me to kill those who fail to revere you, goddess, but each time I look upon the Radiant Dawn, they practically _scream_ for me to kill."

A calm breeze brushed over Diana's shoulder and along her cheek. _"Do you wish to spare the Sun Avatar?"_

"What if I could bend her to accept the moon?" Diana questioned, her gaze turning up. "Before my ascension she never stopped me from pursuing you. She _wanted_ me to find you. What if she accepts me again, accepts _you?_ Would I need to kill her?"

_"Do you remember her face when she saw your power, Diana?"_ There was a pause. _"Do you remember the horror in her eyes, the fear? Do you think she will ever understand us, Diana?"_

"People fear what they cannot understand," Diana responded. "But I don't want her to fear me. I want her to see me, see the truth."

_"There can only be suffering in the end. Whether you choose to suffer or make others suffer is up to you."_

Diana sighed, pressing her forehead into her palm. "Thanks, that was super helpful." She remained still for a few moments until finally her gaze shifted back to the water. Diana slowly rose and went to the water's edge. She hesitated a moment and then snorted at her own stupidity and walked into the lake. Her hands clenched at her sides as she went further, the water chilling her limbs and spreading through her core.

The turf ended when the water came to her ribs and she launched herself forward, plunging into the icy water. Diana resurfaced a few seconds later with a gasp followed by a few hasty breaths. Her arms crossed over her chest and she turned; her eyes landed on the cave leading out of the valley.

When Diana passed through the waterfall, she quickly made her way to the bank. Hands pressed over her hair, wrapping the pale tresses around her fingers and squeezing the water out. Her hands continued to work over it to smooth it back into place as grey eyes pierced through the darkness.

_"You know where to go, don't you, child?"_

A breeze brushed past her and her head turned to follow it.

_"Come."_

Without another thought, Diana broke into a sprint, running straight in the direction she felt the breeze go. The Lunari dodged around trees, slid down gullies and leapt over rotting tree trunks. Eventually a dull glow began to poke around the trees and she slowed; grey eyes peered around. A minute burning sensation enveloped her heart. "This place feels familiar," she said quietly, continuing to pick around the vegetation. Finally the tree line stopped, and Diana found herself in the clearing.

_"Do you remember this place, Diana?"_

Diana was silent, grey eyes peering around the tranquil ground. It was much different than she remembered it to be. _Much more beautiful_, she thought. Knee-high blades swayed gently against each other; boulders and the evergreens surrounding the clearing glistened in the moonlight. Diana walked through the grass, hands slipping over silver blades. "How did you know I have been here?" There was a light laughter in response.

_"I see everything, child."_

Diana made her way to the middle of the clearing and lowered herself onto the ground. She rest on her back, half-lidded eyes staring up at the partially obscured sky. Her head tilted to the side briefly, fingertips drifting across the earth. "I feel," she whispered, fingers curling, "I feel so much at ease here." Her eyes drifted shut and her chest heaved with a sigh. "Goddess, is this why you brought me here?"

_"This place is sacred. Your ancestors were here. Would you like me to show you?"_

"Please," Diana responded. "I wish to understand."

* * *

"Selene!"

Grey eyes turned to look over her shoulder. Through the thick of the trees she saw the armored Solari running after her, rage in his golden eyes.

"Selene, stop this! Stop running from me!"

"No, brother!" she yelled back, dodging a tree. "I will not let you do this!"

"This is for your own good!"

The Lunari's chest heaved for air and the heaviness of Zeno's sword and shield only made her plight much more difficult. Behind her she could hear her brother-in-arms quickly advancing on her. Selene cursed under her breath; Zeno was so much stronger during the day, so much faster than she was. She knew it would only be a matter of time until he caught up with her, but until then, she had to run.

Sure enough, it was not long until the Sun Avatar caught up with his sister, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her against him. Selene struggled against him, screaming as he tried to pry his weapon and shield away. "This is for your own good, Selene," he growled into her hair.

"And this is for _your_ own good, brother," Selene hissed, turning sharply and slamming the shield into the Solari's face. He howled in pain, releasing her and holding his nose. Selene took off running again, but could not make it much further. Her foot caught on the root of a tree and she collapsed, trembling on her hands and knees. She finally managed to turn to face her brother and finally stood with the aid of the sword. Zeno's hands had lowered; blood dripped over his lips and off his chin. "Brother, I'm sorry. I care for you, I don't wish to see you injured." The Solari gave no response. "You've been ill, don't you remember? I've been trying to take care of you."

Zeno slowly made his way to her, stopping about an arm's length away. "You're good to me, Selene." His hands reached out to hold the Lunari's face.

"You're hurt," Selene whispered, raising a hand to his face. Her fingertips traced over his lips and off his chin. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Selene," he said gently, pulling her gaze to meet his eyes. "Why do you wish to protect me? Why are you so good to me?"

A faint smile crossed her lips and hope began to build within her. "Because I love you, brother." There was a pause, their gazes unwavering. "Come, let us return home."

Zeno swallowed and took a half a step forward, lowering his head to press to Selene's. "You love me, Selene," he repeated quietly. He could feel the other's head nod just slightly. "This is why I have to do this."

Selene withdrew, grey eyes laced with confusion. "Brother, what do you—"

Before the Lunari could finish the sentence, a blinding, burning light engulfed them. Heat ripped through her body and the feeling of the other began to become heavy upon her frame. When the light faded and Selene's vision returned in blurry patches, the vegetation that had once surrounded them and protected them from the sun were gone, burned to ashes. Zeno was slumped onto her and gurgling noises sputtered from his throat. His weight became heavier and eventually the Lunari collapsed; a squelching noise followed by a groan rang in Selene's ears as she fell. It took her a few moments to collect herself, her vision slowly coming back. She finally looked down, taking the Solari by the arms and rolling him off to the side. She immediately recoiled with a sharp cry; Zeno's blade was plunged deep into his abdomen and angled upward. Selene went to the felled warrior, crawling to his side and pulling him into her arms. Her fingers hesitated on the hilt of the blade, but the Sun Avatar stopped her. Tears welled in her eyes and they franticly looked over his face. "Brother, why?"

A wet gasp poured from his lips and his fingers struggled to hold her wrist. "This was for your own good, Selene."

_"Why?"_ she screamed, tears spilling over. "What good will this do me, for the Solari, the Lunari? What is this, brother?"

"I did this because I love you, Selene. I didn't—" He paused, drawing an aching breath. "I couldn't bring myself to hurt my sister. It was better this way."

Selene shook her head, sinking to press her head into the Solari's shoulder. A hand made its way to the back of her head, lying heavily there. Selene could not speak, could not find the words to. She remained trembling against him and sobbed until she felt his body go still.

* * *

Diana awoke with a gasp, sitting straight up and wide eyes searching around the clearing. She felt a strange wetness on her face and she franticly wiped her hand across her cheeks. It was daytime now, but something was different about the clearing; the long silver blades of grass were withered and dry. They rattled against each other like hollow bones. The trees looked scorched and the boulders were a dull grey. "Goddess," she choked, "Why?"

_"Such is the cycle of this place. It is a reminder of Zeno's death, of the sun's lies. Its light only blinds and burns; it obscures the truth. My brother's death could have easily been avoided, but he chose to push me away at every chance. The sun had him convinced I was trying to harm him, that I was better, that he should kill me. He chose to kill himself instead."_

Diana was silent a moment, her mind racing. "Selene, goddess," she said in a breathless voice, "Why then did you tell me to kill Leona at my ascension? Why do these voices urge me to kill her?"

_"Vengeance," _she replied. _"My brother's act of love was turned against him. Someone must pay. Do you understand?"_

Diana's eyes lowered, her head shaking in disbelief. "Yes, goddess."

* * *

AN: Kudos to those of you who know the etymology of the name Selene. If you don't go google it, I'll wait.


	9. Playthings

AN: There's some slight language in this chapter, so be warned of that. Other than that, this chapter is long.

* * *

_Bring forth your power; show the sun how strong we are. Let it consume you. Let it fuel your inferno. Let it burn brighter than the sun._

Diana swallowed and drew a deep breath. _Easy, _she thought to herself, _I am in control, not them._

_Open your eyes, sister. Look upon the sun and feel our agony._

The Lunari forced her eyes open and turned her head to face the panel. Grey eyes narrowed upon the image of the Radiant Dawn. Another deep breath filled her and with it came heat that burned in her stomach and rose into her breast. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her blade, stiff digits popping softly. She exhaled, eyes closing and brow furrowing. _Nasus tells me to break the cycle, but Selene tells me your death is necessary._ Cruel eyes reopened. _If only there was a solution to both sides of the coin._

In the past month, Diana had done little to curb the rage that built within her. She tried, of course, at first releasing her anger through her matches on the Rift; this proved to only be a temporary fix which only made the hunger burn more. She steadily became more on edge, tense and cold. Diana's sessions talking with the Curator were often short or silent; Nasus never prodded her to speak, and often times he would stay silent himself, letting the Lunari speak while he jotted in his book.

None of it helped.

A hand rose to rub stiff fingers across her eyes. The Lunari was tired and her skull felt numb. "I really need to get some rest," she muttered to herself with a light sigh. Her fingers passed over her temple into her hair, pushing loose tresses behind a pale ear. A low grumble behind her shoulder pulled Diana's head to the side. "What is it, Nassie? Teemo stuck in a well again?" She paused a moment, a smirk pressing onto her lips. "Actually, let's just leave the little rat there."

Hollow eyes bored into her and she raised an arm to touch a hand to his chin with a mocking hiss of her own. A huge hand enclosed itself around her wrist, removing it from his face. "Adorable," the Curator growled; Diana shrugged a shoulder and turned her head so she faced the panel again. "Depriving yourself of sleep won't help you control yourself. You're already volatile enough on a good night's rest."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied simply, leaning on her blade. "It's not like I don't try, Curator. I've never really slept more than a few hours since I was a child, I didn't have much of a choice."

"And now?"

Diana sighed inwardly. "You'd think a secluded temple would be the quietest place on Mount Targon." She paused, grey eyes closing. "It echoes with my thoughts."

"If you had started doing what I told you to a month before, maybe your mind would be more at ease." The Lunari scoffed. "All you do is run away from it. You can't dodge this forever; all it will do is cause your mind deteriorate further, and sleep deprivation isn't helping."

"It's safer this way, Nasus," she said lowly; eyes darted across the panel to find the Solari.

"The more you prolong this, the stronger the desire to kill the Radiant Dawn becomes. You think it's safe now, but a year from now, simply watching and waiting won't satisfy you anymore."

"Killing the Solari isn't an answer I'm willing to accept, Curator." She turned again to fully face him. "As much as I feel the urge to kill her, you were right. This will do nothing but keep the cycle going." Diana's eyes lowered and her teeth raked over her bottom lip. "But maybe if I got one slice in—"

"—Which is exactly why I've arranged some matches with the two of you in them."

Diana's head snapped up and her face dropped into a scowl. "Nasus, if I didn't know any better I'd slap you." The all-too-familiar tingling sensation in Diana's spine made her face twist. Her limbs began to emanate a blue aura. "Dammit, Nasus."

"Oh, this isn't one of the matches I asked for. Those will take place later this afternoon; I have some matters to attend to so I won't be viewing any of the morning games," the jackal replied, placing his hands on Diana's shoulders and whirling her around. He gave her a gentle push on the back. "Go have fun, slaughter a bunch of carries and get a penta for me." Diana grumbled and stalked off. The Curator remained motionless, arms crossed over his chest until the Lunari was out of sight. Nasus gave a contented sigh and turned, arms folding behind his back. The Curator made his way out of the lobby, returning to his library.

Nasus entered the library silently. His nose immediately caught the scent of sunflowers and his head turned to the right, ears swiveling. The Radiant Dawn stood with her back turned partially to him. Her fingers were gliding over book spines. "Looking for something, Leona? Perhaps I can help you find it."

The Sun avatar turned suddenly. "No, Nasus, I was simply browsing while I waited for you. My apologies." A smile pressed its way onto her lips.

The Curator shook his head and motioned for her to come to him. "No need to be sorry; if anything I should apologize for keeping you waiting. I had to be sure Diana was occupied. She considers this place almost like a second home." He went to his usual chair and sat; the Solari took a seat opposite of him. "I assume you know why I asked you here." She nodded. "To be honest, Leona, I'm surprised you came."

Leona's head tilted to the side slightly and she wrung her hands in her lap anxiously. She sat back into the furniture, placing one knee over the other. "I know that Diana has been consulting with you, so I knew I could trust you with whatever it was you wanted." She paused for a few seconds. "Well, that and I know you're far too intelligent to cross me."

"You and I are too intelligent to cross one another," the jackal stated. "Now," he purred, clasping his fingers together, "I asked Diana this question before and now I'll ask you. What exactly changed after her ascension? "

Leona set an elbow on the arm of the sofa and pressed her chin into her hand, shaking her head. "Too many things to remember. She changed everything, really. The temple was completely destroyed; it's still not restored. Many of the villagers were understandably upset about the events that happened, and some were afraid Diana would come back." She paused, eyes drifting away. "She did a few times to pick some of the Iron Solari off, the ones that aided the elders in her punishments throughout her life."

Nasus gave a slight nod. "I remember you were unreachable for about a week soon after you joined the Institute." He paused, reaching up to briefly scratch his left ear. "And how did all of this impact you personally?"

Leona made a face, thinking a moment. "At first I was angry. I was angry at Diana for what she done, angry at the elders for what they tried to do, but I think most of all I was angry at myself for not being there when she needed me." The Solari pushed her fingers through her hair. "When I first saw Diana in the lobby, all of those feelings, all the anger…resurfaced, but after a while, after watching her fight, it was just sad."

"Could you have possibly known the events that were going to transpire that night?" Nasus inquired, placing an ankle on his knee. Leona only shook her head in response. "Do you think Diana would have ascended had you intervened?"

"I don't know, but maybe she wouldn't be like this today if I had."

"You cannot let this linger upon you forever; not every injustice is preventable, sad as it is," he responded calmly. "What exactly was sad about watching Diana's transformation?"

Leona's gaze slowly dropped and she swallowed. The Solari was silent for a few long moments and at first Nasus was sure Leona would not respond. "Curator, I wish you could see what it was like before. It would answer your question so much better than if I told you." Her fingers curled against her face. "She used to be soft-spoken, unless addressed by the elders. Whenever she found something her face would light up and—" Leona paused, golden orbs shifting anxiously. "I loved that face." The Solari paused again to push fingers through her hair. "—and when something went wrong I was always the person she came to."

"She trusted you."

Leona's eyes closed painfully for a few seconds and she nodded. "She did. Now when I look at her, I don't see the Diana I met. I see this cold warrior that lives and breathes only to slay. She's so strong and her relentlessness is terrifying. I've seen her kill before, in the village; she's there in a second and in the next she leaves a trail of decapitated bodies."

Nasus made a face, nodding curtly. "But Diana does not breathe solely to slaughter those who do not regard the moon. What Diana has done may be reprehensible, but she is still human at the core." He paused, leaning forward and taking his note book from the table. "I mean not to insult you, Radiant Dawn, but do you think it would be fair if Diana remained who she once was forever?" His eyes shifted up; Leona shook her head. "Change is inevitable. Without it, life as we know it would be utterly dull." Nasus opened the book and flipped through some of the pages, stopping briefly on each one to skim its contents. He paused on a page, a hand going to rest thoughtfully on his chin. Hollow eyes shifted up to study the Solari's face. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated, wondering if he should ask or not, but when Leona turned her gaze to meet his he continued. "If given the opportunity, would you kill Diana for what she's done?"

Leona heaved a shaky sigh and again shook her head. "As much as I despise what she's done and as much damage it's done to the Solari village, no. I've never been one to kill, even on the Fields. You know that." She paused; a noise curled from the jackal's throat. "I would only kill her if she made me, and it would be a last resort to save myself." Her hands dropped to her lap and clasped together, fingers wringing nervously around each other. "There have been times I have felt so guilty that I've wished Diana would come for me."

"To kill you?"

Leona nodded. "I would have gladly let her slaughter me."

Nasus' fingers curled against his face. He was silent a moment, thinking. "Guilt weighs heavily on both body and mind, Leona."

A slight smile crossed Leona's lips, but it was gone as soon as it came. "You know me, Nasus. I feel guilty if I fail to save one of my teammates on the Fields."

"Mortality is guilt," Nasus replied; the statement drew the Radiant Dawn's face into confusion. "Is it ultimately your fault in the end if said teammate dies?" Leona was silent. Nasus shook his head. "It was your Summoner that failed to save that teammate, your Summoner that missed that Zenith Blade. Such can be said with Diana's transformation; you had no control over it any more than she did."

Leona's teeth pulled at her bottom lip and she again raised a hand to her face. "Do you think Diana will change?"

Nasus pushed himself out of his chair. "Only time will tell, Leona," he replied, walking around the table to the sofa. He extended a hand and she took it, allowing the jackal to pull her up. "If you wish you can stay here."

Leona shook her head. "I'd best go before Diana returns. I'm sure she wouldn't want me here."

"There's nothing she can do about it, Leona. The library is open to everyone, including you."

"She feels safe here. I would only destroy that sense of security." Leona replied, beginning to turn away. She caught herself midstride, head turning to look at the Curator, and her body followed suit. She turned back to face him and embraced the jackal; her head barely came to his chest. Nasus remained motionless, staring down at the Solari with his arms raised slightly. "I trust you, Nasus," she said gently, pulling from him and turning.

The Curator remained standing, waiting and watching the other leave the library. He drew a deep breath and exhaled once she was gone, returning to his chair. He took a book and his glasses from the side table, placed the lenses on his nose and opened the book.

* * *

The evening sky over the Rift was unusually dark; clouds obscured the sky overhead. In the far off distance boomed the occasional thunder, though it was not loud enough to drown the monotonous announcer Diana was so familiar with.

_"Welcome to Summoner's Rift!"_

"Yeah, yeah," Diana muttered, shoving a Doran's Ring onto her finger. Behind her the Lunari could hear the overly self-absorbed tone of Draven, which was enough to make her skin crawl in itself, and the quiet metallic noises of Leona's gauntlets as she secured them to her arms.

She and her teammates turned to exit the base. Udyr was already on a path for Blue Team's Ancient Golem, hidden by the Fog of War. Before Diana made it past the inhibitor turret, a huge paw caught her by the shoulder. She turned cautiously and was met by the Ursine Volibear. She gave him a questioning gaze. "Good luck against the Dark Sovereign, Diana." He released her and headed for his lane. Diana sighed and placed a hand to her temple.

"Gods, I'm too tired to have balls thrown in my face." From the corner of her eye she saw Draven stop and place his axes on his back. He approached her and she turned her gaze to glare at him. The Executioner stopped beside her, facing the foggy middle lane; he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Hey, Syndra," He extended the first syllable.

"Draven, what the hell are you—"

_"Balls to the walls!" _Draven's face lit up with a satisfied smirk as the noise echoed throughout the jungle, making various beasts howl just out of sight. "There you go, that oughta piss her off."

Diana slapped a hand to her face and dragged it down to cover her mouth. She moved it up again to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I hope you know how much I sincerely _loathe_ you."

Draven enclosed an arm around the Lunari's shoulders and gave her a slight shake; she tensed instinctively at the contact. "Come on now, _everyone_ loves Draven."

Diana's brow creased and she raised an arm, slapping him firmly on the back of the head. The Executioner stumbled forward with a howl, and when he turned Diana's blade was pointed at him. "I'm the exception," she hissed.

"Draven, stop fooling around and let's go!"

A curt laugh escaped the executioner and he pulled the axes from his back, whirling them in his hands. "Comin', toots." He turned and continued into bottom lane.

Diana rolled her eyes. "I hope Caitlyn gets First Blood on you!" She ground her teeth in frustration and shook her head, continuing into the jungle to aid Udyr. As she walked, Diana noticed an acute fogginess occupying the back of her skull; there was a faint sense of her Summoner that accompanied the miasma and she groaned. _This isn't going to end well. Something's off_, she thought. The Golem spawned and she cast a single Crescent Strike before returning to her lane._ Time to play dodge ball. _No sooner had the thought crossed her mind did a dark sphere crash at her feet. Diana cringed, face twisting into a scowl. Stormy eyes shifted to catch hollow purple sockets. A smile spread across the mage's face and her fist clenched, retrieving the dark ball of energy; Diana took the chance to move away from the jungle walls and into the lane.

_Okay, Summoner,_ she thought,_ How good at you at dodging skillshots? _Much to Diana's dismay, there came no response, only a throb in the back of her head. The sphere was hurtled at her and she barely moved out of its way, making the Lunari curse. _Let me have control, Summoner,_ she urged; the ache in her head grew and her brow twitched. A low growl escaped her throat. _Nasus will pay dearly for this._

A bolt of lunar energy ripped from her blade, burning an arc into the grass, only to miss the mage entirely. _Shit._ Before the Lunari could so much as breathe, she rushed forward, crashing into the dark mage. She was immediately pushed away by a powerful force and a simultaneous summoning of another sphere sent the orb hurtling into Diana's stomach. The air in Diana's body quickly left and she fell backwards. The faint taste of copper sat sickeningly on her tongue.

Her vision was blurred, and when it finally refocused, she saw Syndra advancing toward her, hands glowing with the threat of another sphere. Her eyes went wide and she urgently pushed herself backwards, limbs trembling. A sphere was thrown, but not at Diana. Another followed a few seconds later and an urgency rose in Diana's chest. She tried to push herself up, but failed to find the strength to do so. A tightness clenched her body, refusing to let her go. The first sphere was grabbed, and a third sphere crashed into the terrain. "Summoner, do something!" she yelled. The clutched sphere was released and with a screeched command all six plunged for her. The first collided with her stomach, and, as if her Summoner had finally realized the peril she was in, her body displaced itself away. She suddenly found the strength to rise and did so quickly.

As she turned, the second sphere collided with her right shoulder, nearly sending her to the ground again. The attached pauldron threatened to fall from her body. The third and fourth spheres smashed into the center of her back in quick succession, sending her stumbling again. The fifth sphere completed the work of the previous two, sending the Lunari to her knees; the sixth found its place in the back of her skull. Diana's vision burst into a myriad of broken shapes, and slowly the edges of her sight grew blurry and dark. She collapsed forward, face down in the grass. As her consciousness slipped away, she swore she heard the Dark Sovereign cackle in delight.

_"Syndra has slain Diana for First Blood."_

When Diana respawned, she considered sitting at base until the torment was over, but once again an all-consuming ache persisted in her head and she exited the fountain. "I'm going to end up feeding the ever-loving hell out of Syndra," she muttered, wiping the blood from her mouth.

Udyr decided to, thankfully, camp Diana's lane after the kill, though his appearances were few and far between early in the game. Syndra scored three more kills over the span of fifteen minutes, one of which included a double kill on Udyr. Miraculously Diana had not lost her turret.

Purple Team's outermost bottom turret fell, marking the beginning of lane rotation. No kills had been taken on the lane, though pressure was applied equally from both teams throughout the game. Purple Team's jungler, Shyvana, made a presence in bottom lane when Caitlyn and Blitzcrank returned to base. Udyr disappeared into Purple's jungle.

Diana had again returned to base and made her way toward her lane, but as soon as she stepped out of base, her stride shifted and led her into the jungle toward bottom lane. Diana's eyes narrowed as she was lead into the river. _We don't have vision of this area, Summoner, _she warned, but no acknowledgement was given. Her gaze passed briefly over Dragon's Pit; empty. The smell of burning flesh was fresh and the felled serpent hissed quietly just out of sight. Diana crossed the river; the action was immediately punished with a propelled dark sphere to the side. The force behind it was enough to send Diana slumping against a rotting tree. She panted, a hand clutched to her side where a sharp pain persisted. _Broke a rib, I'd bet._ "Come get me, Syndra. I know you're there." There was little point in attempting to show any resistance, especially after giving the mage First Blood and a double kill.

A few long moments of silence dredged into her skull. For a moment she considered moving from the tree, knowing that Shyvana was probably coming for her, and if the half-dragon was not, Caitlyn and Blitzcrank surely were. Another propelled sphere crashed into her torso and she doubled over with a sharp cry. Her blade clattered uselessly to the ground. "You little ball-chucking wh—"

A hand clenched around her jaw, pulling her head up to look at a smiling Syndra. Diana's eyes narrowed upon her. "What's wrong, Diana?" the mage teased, her free hand clenching; Diana's body was forced upright and her face twisted in pain. "Mad that you have your balls to the walls?"

A vein throbbed in Diana's head. She tilted her chin just enough to spit blood in the caster's face. "I could eat you for breakfast, Sovereign."

A scowl formed on the other's face and her free hand emanated a purple glow. "Want to test that theory?"

A harmless golden ray passed through Diana's midsection and barely touched her captor. A smirk pressed its way across Diana's lips. Syndra's face dropped, only adding to the Lunari's pleasure. "The dawn has arrived, bitch." Syndra's grip faltered enough for Diana to move away from the tree, dodging to the right and falling to the jungle floor. The Solari's form smashed through the tree shield first, which quickly smashed into the mage. A whirring sound pulled Diana's eyes to the path leading to the river; Draven emerged from the fog, axes spinning in his hands. He threw one, which pierced through the Sovereign's shoulder and pinned her to the earth. The second found her chest. The Executioner walked to the felled enemy, pulling the bloody axes from Syndra's corpse.

_"Draven has ended Syndra's killing spree."_

Leona turned and offered a hand to Diana, who reluctantly took it after retrieving her blade and giving her a sharp glare. The Solari's gaze turned to Draven. "Take her back to our side of the map before the rest of her team finds us here." The Executioner started to complain, but a hard stare kept him quiet. "Do it, or she'll get all of us killed." He reluctantly placed the axes on his back and went to them, throwing Diana's free arm across his shoulders and guiding her away. Leona stayed behind for a few seconds after they vanished into the Fog before slowly retreating herself.

They met above Dragon's Pit; Diana sat with her back against a wall, Draven stood across from her, arms crossed. His gaze shifted when he heard Leona's footsteps. "She insisted I let her go. Said she didn't want my help."

"I don't need help," Diana growled. "My Summoner obviously wants me dead. Why even bother?"

"I suppose I don't get a 'thank you' for saving you from giving Syndra another kill," Leona said, a slight iciness in her voice.

Diana's eyes narrowed. "As much as I'm glad I'm still alive, getting help from you nearly makes my soul bleed."

Leona's brow creased in frustration. "I could have left you there to die. I could have let you get swarmed by nearly all of Purple Team. I could have let you throw the damn game." She paused, heaving a deep breath. "I aid you because I must, Diana. If I were on that team, you'd be dead right now." She turned to walk away; Draven followed close behind her.

Diana's Summoner made no attempt to initiate a Recall spell, though this came as little surprise to her. She tried pushing herself up with the help of her blade, but found herself unable due to the pain. Rage seared into her chest and she closed her eyes, cursing silently and tilting her head back. "All right, thank you, Solari. Just help me up, please."

Leona turned and immediately her eyes went wide; a red beam marked Diana's breastplate. She shoved Draven away, rushing back towards the Lunari. A loud gunshot rang through the jungle and Leona's body displaced itself in front of Diana's, shield raised. A loud metallic _thud_ made Diana cringe. Leona's gaze quickly turned again, eyes still wide with urgency. "We need to get out of here _now._" Before Draven could respond, the Solari threw her weapon and shield at him, which he barely managed to catch; Diana's head turned just enough to see the huge dent in the shield. "Go!" The Executioner hesitated a moment before complying and disappearing. Leona then turned and knelt, slipping an arm behind Diana's back. The Lunari hissed and pulled away.

"Don't touch me, Solari."

"Shut up and let me do my damn job," the Solari snapped, again pulling Diana to her. Her other arm slipped under her knees and she quickly rose with her, turning and running the way Draven had gone. Behind her, the sound of Syndra's laughter, Shyvana's feral roaring and Blitzcrank's mechanical movements filled the air; although she heard nothing from Piltover's sheriff, Leona was sure she was not too far behind.

_"Run, playthings."_

Diana's shoulders boxed together and she tucked her face into the right shoulder, away from the Solari. Each hurried step Leona took sent tiny jolts of pain through Diana's torso. A quiet growl escaped her lips and her eyes heavily closed. Shifting light danced across her face. "I would have preferred Draven carry me over you, Solari, as much as I hate him."

"I don't trust Draven with you."

A grey eye popped open, staring up at the Solari, who paid her no mind. "You trust him enough to give him your sword and shield, but not your rival. You never were one for logic, Solari, but this tops everything." She saw Leona's throat shift as she swallowed.

"This is personal." A loud blaring noise echoed over the trees and Diana groaned; Blue Team had started a surrender vote. Leona's pace increased slightly. "It's for the better. This game is going nowhere."

"We have a turret on them and none of ours are gone yet. There's no point in surrendering," Diana growled. Light bathed over them as they made their way out of the jungle into mid lane, directly outside of their base.

"We've also only got one kill and two of our five Summoners are either brain dead or trolling the hell out of us."

Diana scowled and she turned her head. "There's nothing to be earned from surrendering. It does nothing but waste everyone's time." Nonetheless, the surrender vote was passed; Diana watched with livid eyes as their Nexus exploded. Leona stopped with a sigh. Her arms fell to her sides and Diana dropped to the ground, cursing as she writhed at the Solari's feet. Slowly the pain within her undone itself and she pushed herself up to sit. "The hell was that for?"

"You're not in danger anymore, and you didn't want my help in the first place. Why bother with formalities?" Leona continued to walk to their fountain, not bothering to turn to regard her. "I don't even expect a 'thank you' from you."

Heat seared into Diana's chest and she hastily rose, quickly advancing on the other. "It's always me," she yelled, now just a few feet from her; Leona was in the fountain now, preparing to exit the base. The sun avatar turned, her face expressionless. "I'm always the one that gets the hell beat out of me, or screws up or suffers. It's never you because gods forbid you be anything less than fucking perfect, Leona!" Leona's face turned livid within instant and golden pools hardened into ice. A gauntlet protected hand rose and slapped the Lunari across the face. Diana's eyes went wide and her lips parted. She raised a hand to the abused flesh and turned her gaze back to Leona. "Did you just _hit_ me?"

"Yeah," Leona responded, a slight air in her voice, "And it felt pretty damn good." Diana lunged for her, but she caught her by the arms and shoved her away. "How dare you say you've been the only one to suffer? _How dare you _say I never screw up and call me perfect?" She paused, their eyes burning into each other. "Do you have any idea what you did in the village? Do you have even the _slightest_ iota of an idea of how much trust the Solari lost for me?" Leona's voice slowly rose, echoing throughout the base. "Do you have any idea how painful it is to carry the coffins of all the people you destroy, how painful it is to _watch_ you kill them?" Leona's jaw clenched and she looked away from Diana a moment, her chest heaving a deep breath. "I have done nothing but suffer since you left the village. Don't you _dare_ say I haven't." Leona moved past her, knocking their shoulders against each other. The Solari went to Draven, who stood stone-faced a few feet away, and retrieved her sword and shield. She exited the Rift, followed soon by the livid Diana.

Draven huffed a short laugh, going to the shopkeeper to return his items. "Ladies always fightin' over each other."

* * *

When Diana entered the lobby, her eyes instantly latched onto Nasus and she made a path for him, shoving past anyone else in her way. Nasus saw her coming and started to meet her halfway. "You," she growled, stalking up to him, a finger pointed at his chest. "Library, _now_." She turned and quickly made for the other corridor; Nasus followed closely behind her. When they were out of sight of the lobby, Diana finally made her displeasure verbal. "What in the hell were you thinking, Curator?" she snapped, not faltering her stride.

"You need to learn to depend on one another. You don't have to like each other; simply working together will suffice."

"I'm not a dependent person, Nasus."

"You let your pride get the better of you," Nasus replied; Diana's brow twitched in frustration, invisible to the Curator behind her. "Pride will get you killed; if Leona and Draven not come for Syndra, you would have died. Had Leona not taken Caitlyn's bullet, again you would have died."

Diana stopped suddenly and turned, nearly making the jackal run into her. "It's the Rift, Nasus. Who gives a damn if you die or not? It's not like it's permanent." She ran a hand across her eye, which then shifted to push fingers through her hair. "I know you had to have picked my Summoner on purpose."

"Of course I did."

Diana growled. "I don't like my head being messed with, and I certainly don't like my emotions hung out for the Solari to see them."

Nasus was silent a moment, hollow eyes studying her face. "Do you acknowledge Leona's suffering?"

A sigh escaped Diana's lips and she again turned, continuing down the hall. "Now is hardly the time to probe my mind, Nasus."

"Do you at least understand why I did this?" Diana gave no response. The jackal caught up to her, walking by her side this time. "If you rely only on yourself, you'll end up driving yourself into the ground. I'm honestly surprised you associate yourself with me."

"I've spent too much time alone," Diana said quietly, her voice even and almost calm. "I'm still human; I have needs. Being completely misanthropic gets me nowhere." She paused, eyes shifting down. "You're an intelligent man, if not cruel at times. I trust you."

"Perhaps you could extend that trust to the Radiant Dawn, with time."

Diana shifted her gaze to look at him, her eyes cool pools of stone. "You really want this to work, don't you?" The Curator gave no response. "Why?"

"I would hate to have to experience the same decimation of people I did in my homeworld, the same bond my brother and I shared severed forever, and all for nothing."

The two continued to the library in silence. Nasus retrieved his book from the side table and sat on the end of the sofa; Diana plucked one from the shelves and joined him. She turned so that she was stretched out on the remainder of the furniture, her back propped against the Curator's arm. When the jackal turned his head to growl at her, she simply growled back. "You sat here, get over it." When he continued his stare, she briefly stuck her tongue out at him before turning her gaze to the book.

Silence consumed them, save the gentle turn of pages every so often. Diana's back shifted gently in a rhythmic pattern with each breath she took, and after a while Nasus paid it no mind until she drew a deep audible breath. His ears twitched and eyes shifted up from his place on the page, but not over to her. The pattern continued, and he went back to his book. Another few minutes passed before a snore again pulled Nasus' attention away, this time turning his eyes to look at the Lunari.

"I draw the line at sleeping, Lunari." His brow furrowed and he shifted his arm; Diana shifted with it, turning over on her side. The book she held on her stomach fell to the floor with a thud. The Lunari's arms enclosed around the jackal's arm, face pressed into the short coarse fur. Another snore escaped her. "Diana, wake up." He growled, trying to pull the limb away; this produced a groan from the other and she curled, brow furrowing in frustration. Nasus leaned down a little, pinning his ears against his head and growling as sincerely as he could. His ears perked again when Diana gave no response and he sighed, leaning back over to prop his other elbow on the arm of the sofa chin resting in the adjacent palm.

"You're stuck like that until she lets go or wakes up." The voice pulled Nasus' gaze to the door, where Leona stood with her back to the door, closing it quietly behind her. She made her way over to them, stopping in front of Diana's body. "She hardly ever sleeps, so when she does she's dead to the world."

"I'm guessing you've had this happen to you several times." Nasus replied, grazing a claw over his temple. Leona nodded, crouching in front of them. "How do I get her to let go?"

Leona's gaze shifted briefly to look at him. "You shouldn't have sat here in the first place if you knew she was tired." Nasus growled lowly. Leona raised her hands and pulled her gauntlets from her wrists, turning and setting them gently on the table behind her. She went back to Diana, a hand resting itself on the crown of her head and fingertips slowly pushed through platinum hair.

Nasus watched, chin still perched in his palm. "What exactly brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened," Leona responded; her fingers tilted to dip deeper into silken tresses. "But it seems Diana already has. Bend your arm a little." Nasus complied, pulling himself to sit slightly more upright. Diana made a groaning noise as she slumped downward a little. Leona's face was hard and unreadable. Her fingers passed over a pale temple. "Diana, you hardass," she said quietly, fingers withdrawing and restarting at her crown. "I can't stay mad at you no matter how much you upset me." Her other hand went to one of Diana's wrists, gripping it lightly and pulling it free.

Nasus shifted again, lifting his arm so that Leona could do the same with the other. He then slowly stood, turning to hold the side of Diana's head as he rose as not to disturb her. He lowered it slowly and withdrew the hand then became still, eyes shifting to Leona. "Now what?"

"Just leave her here, there's no point in moving her," she replied, slowly standing; she turned and retrieved the gauntlets then replaced them on her hands. She gave a quiet sigh and turned her gaze to look at the Curator. "Do me a favor and don't tell her I was here." Nasus tilted his head and watched the Solari turn to leave. The door opened and quietly clicked shut; the jackal's gaze went back to settle on Diana.

"Why can't you be this peaceful all the time?"

* * *

AN: It had to be done. Sorrynotsorry.

As you can probably tell, I like to snipe the hell out of people through the Fog using Syndra's Q + E combo.


	10. Secrets That Kill

AN: There was originally more to this chapter, however I decided to save it for the next chapter because it skips ahead a few months and advances from the contents of this one.

As for this chapter, a lot of this could be considered filler, I guess, though some side-plot things are brought up which later tie into the story. I feel the end is fast approaching, though I suspect chapter posts are going to get slower as I try to get there as coherently as possible.

Also sorry about the filler stuff, I know it's annoying as balls.

* * *

"Wait for me, Diana!"

The small girl paid no heed to her mother as she ran ahead through the dark field. Diana looked over her shoulder to her mother, who trailed behind her at a half-sprint with her robes held in one hand. She fell to the grass, vanishing underneath the vegetation and sending up a white puff of dandelion seeds. She rose a few seconds later and continued her sprint as though nothing had happened, but a pair of hands caught her under the arms and lifted her up and spun her in a circle. She was abruptly turned in her mother's arms and clutched to her chest. A gentle growl was pressed into pale hair.

"You know better than to run from me, Diana. I'm not as young as you are, I can't keep up." Diana's face dipped into the curve of her neck in a silent apology and she gave a quiet sigh, perching her chin atop her head. She lifted a hand to rake gently through soft hair. "What if you go too far ahead of me and get hurt?" Her mother paused a moment before withdrawing from Diana to look at her. "You're not hurt, are you?" Diana shook her head and she was pulled back to her chest. "Good. Your father would throw a fit." After a few silent moments she lowered Diana to her feet and continued through the field.

She came to a stop when she was sure they were far enough from the village and lowered herself onto the grass. She pulled Diana into her lap. Diana's pale blue eyes stared up at the sky, darting everywhere, and finally settling on the moon, which poked its face around passing clouds. Her mother's head tilted slightly to watch her and fingers combed through her hair. "Why can't we see the moon sometimes?"

Her mother was silent a moment as she thought. "She's resting," she finally answered.

"Doesn't she rest during the day?"

"Well, yes, but she's much stronger with the night." The girl fell silent and she wrapped her arm around her, pulling her back into her frame. "Even if we can't see her," she continued, pressing her face into her hair, "She'll always be there. She can always see us." Fingers withdrew from Diana's hair and the woman's legs shifted away from her daughter's sight in a painstaking manner. Slowly she pulled the hem of her robes up over her left leg. "No matter what happens, Diana," Her fingers slid over the rough, ornate sheath of a dagger. Slender fingers curved around the hilt and slowly withdrew it. "I'll always be with you."

Diana turned in time to see silver metal plunge into her mother's neck and she let out a screech as blood sullied pale skin and dark robes. Tiny hands rushed to her neck uselessly, which were caught nonetheless by the other's free hand.

* * *

Grey eyes shot open in the dark with a harsh gasp. Diana lifted herself on her arms, eyes searching frantically around the room. As her sense slowly started to calm the familiar smell of books filled her nose and she fell back down onto the sofa with a sigh. Diana lay motionless for a while, knees curled close to her body and fingers pressing over her hair. The Lunari brand partially illuminated her face and some of the furniture below her.

There was a sudden shifting noise behind her and Diana sat upright again, eyes again shifting in the darkness. She swallowed nervously, turning to look over the back of the sofa. "Nasus?" No response. There came another clatter of noise followed shortly by a growl. "Nasus, turn on the light. This isn't funny." Her eyes narrowed and she slowly stood. She groped her way around the table and made her way to the door where the light switch was. A gentle clicking pattern followed behind her.

As she reached out for the switch a hand placed itself on her shoulder and she sharply turned, slamming an elbow hard into the figure, which produced a literal yelp. It fell forward, pushing Diana to the wall and a hand clenched itself on the space next to her head. She reached to the side and quickly flipped the switch. She was met with the Curator's chest, her face only inches from it. She forcefully pushed him away a few steps. "Are you okay?" Ears pinned against his head and he growled low in his throat. "You should know better than to do something like that," she continued, slipping beneath his arm.

"All I wanted was to check on you," he strained, stumbling forward so that his head was against the wall. "I heard you gasp; it woke me. You repay my kindness by hitting me?"

"Oops," she answered half-heartedly. She went back to the sofa and sat, a hand going to rub briefly across her eyes. "I thank you for the concern, but I'm fine. It was just a dream."

Nasus released a groan and turned , slowly retreating into the library's backroom. Diana spent a few minutes in silence; the smell of brewing tea leaked from the room and she turned her head when she heard claws clicking against the wood floor. "About that dream," he said, going to his chair and sitting.

"What time is it?"

Nasus tilted his head slightly at the question. "It's six o' clock." Diana's eyes shifted away momentarily as though she were thinking. "What is it?"

Diana shrugged placing fingers to rub at her temple. "Nothing." She fell silent again and her hands went to rest in her lap. "I need to go to the temple for a few hours," she finally said, pushing herself up. Nasus gave her a questioning gaze. "I need to move some of my things here before the tournaments start. I'll be back later." The Curator's eyes did not falter. "What?"

"Are you positive you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered flatly. Diana turned and retrieved her blade from its resting place against the end of the sofa and set it upon her shoulder. She made for the door and started to open it, but hesitated, turning her head slightly to look at him. "I'm sorry, Nasus, truly." A growl escaped him and a smirk pressed its way onto her lips.

* * *

It was dawn when she arrived at the temple, but the clouds overhead casted dark shadows across the sanctuary. The air was cool and thick with the scent of approaching rain, and thunder boomed in the distance. Diana was still, a sickening feeling holding her in place. Grey eyes quickly scanned across the valley. They passed over the deceased Lunari's grave and stopped, narrowing at the strange movement in the grass near it. Diana started for it cautiously, her blade ready beside her. From a distance all she could make of the movement was a squirming grey form. It was only when she was about ten paces from it did she realize what exactly it was and her eyes went wide. She dropped the blade, sprinted the remaining distance to the grave and dropped on one knee. A black marble eye stared up at her. A mouth gaped silently and fins uselessly flailed against the air. "How did you get out here?" she asked quietly, carefully lifting the muddied fish in her hands.

She quickly went to the water and again sank to her knees, placing her hands and the fish in the water. She kept her hold on him gently, one palm underneath its belly and the other over its back. After a few minutes she lifted the hand at its back and passed her fingers over sullied scales. Eventually the fish left her touch and swam slowly into the darkness. Diana turned her head to look back at the grave site; it was at least fifteen feet from it to the water's edge. She shook her head and stood, brushing off the incident. Diana retrieved her weapon and entered the temple.

The brazier on the wall roared to life and with it the chamber was illuminated; light and shadows danced across several books piled at the foot of a makeshift bed. A few woven baskets and pottery sat against a wall; in front of them was Diana's discarded robe. A rundown bookshelf sat adjacent to the bed; pelts of different animals and sizes were draped over it.

There really was little Diana could or wanted to take from here; most of the important things she brought soon after her arrival at the Institute. She had to at least take _something_ so that Nasus would not question her. She could take the pelts; spending the winter at the Institute rather than the temple was something she considered in the past. Having them there would make the upcoming winter games easier to bear. She could take the books, though there were too many to take all at once and there were plenty of them sitting on the desk in her room at the Institute.

Diana let out a growl and went to the bookshelf. She picked through the pelts, throwing the ones she wanted onto the bed. When she finished she turned to grab one of the baskets against the wall; her eyes landed on the discarded robe and they narrowed. "I really need to get rid of that," she grumbled, going to it and picking the burgundy fabric up. She made to toss it but stopped when a quiet _clink_ came from below. Her eyes shifted down; between her feet was Leona's Iron Solari locket. Diana threw the robe aside and slowly bent to pick the locket up. She turned the piece over in her palm, stormy eyes prying over every detail. She pressed her thumb to the tiny button in the center and the wings of the locket expanded into a circle with a shrill cry.

_"I know you don't think too kindly of the Solari sometimes, but this way you'll have some of me with you, and maybe you won't feel so alone." _

Diana's fist clenched around the locket and her brow furrowed in anger. She raised her fist and for a split second considered throwing the object against the stone wall, but slowly the anger within her died into embers and she sighed. She instead turned and tossed it onto the bed. She took one of the baskets from the wall, went to the pile she set out on the bed and began folding the pelts to stuff into it. Her gaze switched to the locket as she went to place the last one in the basket. She hesitated as she reached for it, fingers curling in midair. A nagging hiss ran in the back of her mind.

_This is part of your past; you're no longer a Solari. You're one of us._

"I don't have to like you, Solari. I just have to work with you."

Her fingers uncurled and she quickly took the locket and dropped it in with the hides before she gave herself the chance to change her mind. Diana slid the handles of the basket onto her blade and set it upon her shoulder.

Diana returned to the main chamber of the temple. By now the sun lit up the stone walls and poked its way along the murals lining them. Her eyes peered around; the air was still cool and damp. "Selene," she called out, walking along the wall towards the altar, "Do you remember my mother?" There came no response, only a quiet dripping sound and the chatter of birds outside. "Selene?"

_"Address me properly, acolyte."_

Diana's brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. _"Goddess," _she said, nearly hissing. She made her way to the altar; eyes immediately latched onto the still bloodstained stone floor and she circled slowly around it. The memory of finding the cadaver here briefly flashed into her mind; the smell, the darkened bones, the tattered robe and the clinging pale strands of hair all stood in her mind as though she had seen it just yesterday.

_"She was a docile woman, up until your birth. You were born beneath a harvest moon. Your mother was…" _There was a pause; Diana's eyes narrowed upon the stain and she knelt. Her fingertips passed over the dark outline. "_Distressed, I suppose would be the word, because she knew the elders would see the act, however natural, as an atrocity."_

"She sought you afterwards," Diana said, slowly rising. Her eyes shifted up to the opening. "Did she find this place?" No response was given and Diana heaved an inward sigh. She exited the temple and went to the grave; the Lunari was silent as she looked over it, mind racing with thought. Finally she turned and left the sanctuary.

When Diana returned to the Institute, she went straight to her room. Much to her delight Nasus was not out wandering the halls or spectating in the lobby. Diana dropped the basket off in her room and, after relieving herself of her armor and enjoying a quick bath, she went to the desk sitting across from her bed. Papers, scrolls and books covered its surface and sat in its chair, some of them from the Institute's library, some of them stolen from the Solari library, and others she found at the temple. It had been a while since Diana touched any of them, despite the Curator's nagging to return his books.

She picked through the pile carefully, opening some of them to briefly read the contents, until she came to a green leather-bound book; on its face was the Solari symbol. Diana quickly flipped through the pages until they hitched to reveal Selene's makeshift journal. Diana pulled the pages from the book, closed and replaced it on the desk, then went to sit cross-legged on the end of the bed. She flipped through the first few pages and skimmed over the badly faded text; some of it she had tried to renew in the past as was done with some of the entries, but quickly tossed the idea for fear of destroying the text altogether.

Diana eventually skipped Selene's entries and went to the Lunari acolyte's contribution to the journal. Several of the pages were filled with miniature star charts, calculations and notes on the locations of celestial bodies at a given time of the year. The later pages included dates of lunar events, particularly eclipses, full moons, Harvest and Blood moons. When Diana came to the final page, her eyes narrowed upon the scrawled message and her heart sank, just as it had done the first time she read it.

_Found the temple, on the run from Solari elders, not safe anymore._

"You were never safe," Diana said quietly, her lids closing; her chin dipped down and a few strands of still-damp hair fell over her shoulder. "Your safety left with my birth." Diana still had no proof that the calculations or the message were from her mother, but all of it made sense; her disappearance, her father's vague answers, the writings, the cadaver in the temple, all of it made sense. Now she just needed proof.

There was suddenly a series of loud knocks on her door and Diana's mind was pulled away from thoughts of her mother. "You in there, Diana?" An indistinguishable male voice; Diana figured it may have been a Summoner.

She ran a hand through her hair and suppressed a sigh building within her chest. "Yes."

"Suit up, matches start in twenty minutes."

"I'll be ready," she replied. Her hand went to cover her eyes and she rubbed them. She was motionless for a few minutes, save for her breathing, as she tried to pull her mind together. The ache was still there, nagging at the back of her skull, though it was not nearly as severe as it usually was. The hand dropped to slide down and off her face. _If I woke up at six, _she thought, _I had to have slept at least eight hours, probably longer. No dreams from Selene, although the one I had was no better…but it's better than nothing. _

"Maybe I should sleep here more often," she muttered, turning to toss the journal onto the head of the bed, next to where she discarded her armor half an hour earlier. She rose and donned nearly all of the armor, but stopped when she went to fix the breastplate and pauldrons. Grey eyes shifted to the basket near the door and she swallowed. Diana set the pieces of armor down, slowly went to the basket and dug through it until she found the locket. The Lunari unfastened its clasp and fixed it around her neck, then pulled the neck of her bodice out so that it slipped beneath it to rest against her skin. Diana went back to the bed, equipped the remaining pieces of armor, and left for the lobby.

* * *

A javelin seared right past Diana's head and imbedded into a tree beside her. Her brow twitched and she quickly turned, running through the enemy's jungle and back toward her own. It had been a risky move by her Summoner to pursue the now-slain Fiora after an unfruitful gank. In the time it took Diana to find and kill her, Fiora's Summoner had alerted the Bestial Huntress', who was now hot on her trail. The final scrape to end Fiora's life had left her wounded and barely in the condition to take on Nidalee and, possibly, their jungler.

_Go to Dragon's Pit, everyone is going to meet you there._

"Summoner, with all due respect," she strained, "I'm already dangerously close to Nidalee killing me. Don't put me in Leona and Ashe's line of fire. I know what I'm doing."

_Trust me. We've got you._

"Insolent little—" Diana growled, stopping the insult short. "Pride will get me killed," she muttered quietly. "What's the plan?"

_Ideally, Nidalee will follow you all the way there and tip Leona and Ashe off, bringing them to the Pit; it'll be a bonus if Udyr shows up—_

"You're using me as bait," she growled. "I don't appreciate that."

_—The rest of us come in, we kill all four by the time Fiora respawns and we push to an inhibitor. She won't have much of a choice but to defend against all five of us._

"You Summoners amaze me with your theories. Never underestimate your opponent." Nonetheless she did as she was told and crossed through the empty middle lane for Dragon's Pit. Another javeline went past her head when she disappeared into the brush, which was followed shortly by the sound of the huntress' roar. "Summoner, I hope you and the others know what you're doing." Diana forcefully came to a stop at the empty pit. Her eyes shifted around and she turned in each direction. A low growl came just out of sight. Diana turned the hilt of her blade in her hand, eyes narrowing to search through the Fog in vain.

The shrill cry of a hawk pulled Diana's gaze upwards; above her Ashe's crystalline hawk circled twice before exploding into a shower of tiny ice crystals. The area remained lit and Diana's face dropped and she turned. "Summoner, where—" The sentence died on her lips; from the corner of her eye she saw Ashe's crystal arrow emerge from the Fog of War and she attempted to run, but it was already too late. The arrow collided with her body, freezing her in place. Its Champion and Leona emerged shortly after; Nidalee stalked from out of the brush and Udyr followed suit, rushing straight for the rapidly thawing Lunari. Nidalee and the Solari charged in with him; Ashe readied a slew of arrows on her bow.

Renekton's form displaced over the Pit's wall and rushed for them. A roaring command transformed him with Dominus. His blade swung, cutting through the three enemy Champions and making them recoil. Diana finally became free of the ice and her head turned to look at Dragon's Pit where the rest of her team—Morgana, Vayne, and Cassiopeia— had joined them.

All three rushed in; Morgana initiated Soul Shackles, which was punished by a Solar Flare. By sheer luck and the grace of Morgana's shield, Diana and Renekton were the only ones fortunate enough to escape its stun; the others, however, were not so lucky. Ashe fired a volley into their team followed by a few quick arrows. Before Morgana could complete the spell, she had been slain.

The full weight of Nidalee's cougar form sent Diana backwards into the river. She snapped her blade up to fend off sharp teeth and claws. From her peripherals she saw Renekton lunge for Udyr, while Leona went straight for Vayne and Ashe followed suit; the Night Hunter didn't stand a chance.

_"Ashe has slain Vayne for a double kill."_

"Dammit, Renekton!" she yelled, "Priorities!" Diana landed a fist to the cougar's jaw, temporarily stunning her and giving the Lunari the opportunity push the cat away and struggle to her knees. Claws again swiped for her; this time freeing a gauntlet and tearing over the sleeve covering the arm.

_"Ashe has slain Cassiopeia for a triple kill."_

Diana's brow furrowed in frustration. She again felled Nidalee and quickly rose before the cougar could react and slammed the tip of her blade through the cat's ribcage. There came a low howl from her and then she became still; Diana's blade withdrew and blood stained the water below her.

_"Diana is on a rampage."_

Diana's gaze turned to Renekton, who had returned to his normal form. Several arrows stuck from his form and blood gleamed over cobalt scales. Diana threw an arc toward Udyr, the closest to the crocodile, and rushed for him. Three quick strikes brought the already wounded Spirit Walker to his knees and Diana relieved him of his head, but not before the Butcher had been felled.

_"Ashe has slain Renekton for a quadrakill; Diana has slain Udyr for a double kill."_

Diana's eyes turned to rest dangerously on Ashe. Her head thrummed with voices and rage welled within her. With another cast of lunar energy she was upon the archer, sending both into the water. The curve of her blade met with that of Ashe's bow and the Lunari pressed harder. Her face was stoic as the bow began to creak and tiny splits started to form throughout the ice. "Not today," she whispered, pushing on the blade with all the strength left in her body. The bow snapped and the released tension sent the blade through the archer's neck.

_"Diana has ended Ashe's killing spree for a triple kill."_

Diana recoiled from Ashe's body. Her head tilted slightly as she drank in the fear still present in Ashe's hollow eyes. She lifted her blade, planted its tip into the ground and made to push herself up with it only to be struck in the side of the head by the Radiant Dawn's shield. The Lunari collapsed to the side on her elbow. Her vision went blurry for a few seconds and finally refocused in time to almost completely dodge the other's blade; its tip grazed along her cheek and broke the skin. A loud splash mixed with a hissing noise told Diana the Solari had dropped her shield into the river, and suddenly the freed hand clutched the silver breastplate and pulled her to her feet. Her face met with Leona's; it was hard and expressionless, and Diana found it hard to stare directly at her for the heat exuding from the Sun Avatar's form.

In a mere second Leona's face formed into a scowl and the Lunari was tossed effortlessly to the side. She landed in the water and slid until her back met with stone. Her vision blurred briefly and when it refocused she saw the Solari's boots a few feet from her, steam rising around them. They advanced toward her and the toe of one poked at her side. Diana turned on her back with a groan, and when her eyes met with the Solari's darkened form, her mind flitted back, if only for a second, to the image of Leona standing over her in the Solari village. Her heart sank deep within her, and somehow she could almost feel the hidden locket burning against her skin as if to mock her.

Diana raised her blade with a trembling arm in attempt to pull the Solari's feet from under her, but the other simply pinned the weak limb with her boot. Leona's hands wrapped around the hilt of her blade; she lifted it above her head and brought it down to pierce through the Lunari's forehead, through the Lunari sigil. Diana's mouth gaped open uselessly, though a few strained noises managed to escape her throat. The blade withdrew and the Solari knelt. Grey eyes shifted to her and arms uselessly reached towards her form; Leona simply took her wrists and lowered them. Lunar energy thrummed from her body, refusing to leave her, begging the body to rise. A hand rose to Diana's face and fingertips glided down her brow and over her eyes, pulling the lids over them. "Let go, Diana. It's okay." A choked sound sputtered from Diana's throat as if to protest, but her body began to dissolve into the energy pouring from her. As Diana's consciousness left her, she felt a hand pass over the crown of her head. "I'm sorry."

_"Leona has ended Diana's killing spree. Purple Team has scored an Ace."_

* * *

The rest of that day passed Diana in a blur. She easily forgot all of the matches she participated in, save for the first one, though none of it mattered now.

It was well past midnight and all of the Champions had either left the Institute or were asleep in their rooms. Diana, however, was wide awake, sitting on the first landing of the Institute's steps. She had left her armor on a pedestal in her room and instead wore a simple black camisole and grey sweatpants. In hindsight the camisole was a poor choice; the night air was much cooler than Diana had expected it to be.

But the Lunari simply sighed and pressed her hands over her arms to press the cold away, if only for a moment.

She leaned back to lie on the concrete. Stone eyes darted across the clear night sky, over the countless stars and the waning half-disk of the Moon; her fingers idly went to the locket on her chest. _It's been so long,_ she thought. _Far too long since I've taken time to simply gaze._ With this thought her mind began to unwillingly dip into her memories.

_"Have you ever just watched the stars?" _

_"Out of all the times I've been outside during the night, I don't think I've ever actually _looked_ at the moon."_

There was a hesitant pause in her thoughts. Her eyes closed and a sigh escaped her lips.

_Diana was spun as Leona pulled her towards her, the white dress she wore lifting slightly with the centripetal force. They changed hands and again Diana was spun; this time when she returned to Leona, she ran forcefully into her, sending both of them to the grass in a sputter of laughter._

_The celebration of the summer solstice had long been over, but the two decided to continue the celebration outside the village. Diana rolled off of Leona's form, but remained close to her as her gaze shifted to the full disk of the moon. Leona propped herself on her elbow to look at her. "And you said you can't dance."_

_"I obviously can't," she replied, her head shifting over to smile at the other. A slender brow rose to question her and she lunged forward, arms going around the Solari's neck and sending her back to the earth. "Don't look at me like that," she growled into her shoulder. Diana became still against her and an arm curved around her ribcage._

_"Did you at least have fun at the celebration?" _

_Diana was silent a moment and finally answered, "Not too much." A hand went to the back of her head and her chin dipped._

_"Why not?"_

_"It's not fair that the Solari only celebrate the Sun and not the Moon. You heard them at the celebration, they said—"_

_"—Long live the Sun and down with the bastard Moon, I know," Leona finished. Diana shifted uncomfortably against her and Leona let her fingers rake reassuringly through her hair._

_"I don't understand, Leo," Diana continued, "They fear and abhor the Moon so much, but if you dare ask them why the only response you'll receive is that you're a heretic for questioning." Leona was silent a moment._

_"Why would anyone fear something as beautiful as the Moon?"_

Diana's eyes reopened but quickly closed again with the sting of tears. She pulled herself up to sit, bringing her knees to her chest and pressing her face into her arms. She suppressed the emotion the best she could, though her breath came in shaky gasps. Dealing with Selene's memories was one thing, but dealing with her own was torment in itself. "Goddess," she sputtered, lifting her face from her arms enough so that her eyes bore into the darkness. She felt a familiar weight envelop itself around her shoulders as if in an embrace, though it was not nearly as strong as it usually was.

_"What troubles you, child?"_

"Why do my memories haunt me more than yours?" she questioned. "Why don't they anger me more? Why do they bring me to my knees?" She paused; the feeling loosened slightly. "My childhood, Leona, my mother—all of it just hurts. All of it has been so sudden since my arrival here." A tear slipped from her eye and she silently cursed herself. "Selene, what happened to my mother? What are these voices I hear, and why do they tell me to kill?" Her head snapped up to look at the Moon, but no response came; the weight around her had completely dissipated from her form. Rage burned in her chest and her brow furrowed in frustration. "Selene!" Still no reply came, and Diana's hands clenched in her hair in anger. She pressed her face into her knees.

After a few minutes another weight, this one literal, fell around her and brought warmth with it. Diana's eyes shifted up and she unclenched her hands from her head to pull the throw blanket around her shoulders. Her eyes shifted up and found the hollow glowing eyes of the Curator staring down at her. "If you came here to pity me, save it and go back inside."

"No," Nasus replied, slowly lowing himself beside her. "I came here as a friend, not to pity or delve into your brain." He propped an elbow onto a bent knee. "I figured you would be here anyway. You left the library and when I went to your room to check on you, you weren't there."

Diana's head tilted slightly. "Check on me? What, did you think I'd disappear?"

"Your mental state worries me at times. I always check on you when you opt to stay at the Institute rather than return to the temple."

Diana's shoulders boxed and she pressed her face into her knees again. "I'm fine, Nasus."

"Do you always bottle your emotions?" Nasus' head tilted curiously to regard her. She gave no reply. "So far the only emotions I've seen from you is anger, some flashes of guilt and sadness which then spirals into rage."

"Emotions lead to hesitation. If I think about what I'm doing while I kill someone, I stop immediately." She heaved a sigh. "The first few Solari I killed in the weeks of my ascension were…difficult. I felt guilty halfway through and ended up leaving them badly wounded. Some I had to come back a second time to finish. But over time I learned to turn my emotions off, and I hardly felt anything. Ever since I came here, it's been much more difficult to stifle those emotions off the Fields. I imagine it's only a matter of time before I become defunct on the Fields."

"You can't make all this stop at once, especially since you've repressed it so long. If you try it will run you over and leave you to die." Nasus paused as Diana's head turned. "Do you still consider killing Leona?"

"What does it matter? She probably wants my head on a platter as much as I wanted hers." She paused, a gnawing pain growing in her stomach. "I think as long as I can find release through the Fields, I can stifle the urge, but if this keeps up something is going to break." She paused and a hand ran through her hair. "Sometimes I wonder why I came here, why I chose to join the League. I could have easily waited until I was ready to kill Leona and done so without all this crap. I used to feel nothing but hate for her, but now that I have to almost constantly be near her, I've had memories that I haven't thought of in ages come into my mind. " She paused, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "It's not just restricted to Leona. It's other things, too, memories that aren't my own."

"I think you just need some time. It's been a month, everything has been a bit sudden to what you've become accustomed to."

Diana swallowed. "Nasus, do you know what the most difficult part of my ascension was?" He gave no response. "I didn't want to admit it to myself, but being alone," She paused. "Being alone was the hardest part of all of it. I still feel alone at times, especially when I leave this place at night to retreat to the temple."

"You're not alone anymore. My library is always open to you, Diana, you know that," the Curator replied. Diana was silent. "What, does my company not please you?"

A smile stretched across Diana's face and she leaned to rest against his arm. "You've been good to me, even through all my faults. I'll admit that."

Nasus shifted away and stood, then extended his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. "Come. We both should be resting. The tournaments aren't far off."

Diana gave no argument when he turned and ascended the stairs and she followed behind him. Her mind began to wander and finally her brows furrowed in frustration. "Nasus?" His head turned slightly, but he did not slow his stride. "I need you to go through the library, and if you find anything that mentions the Lunari, I want to see it."

This time he stopped and halfway turned to look at her. "You think I'll have something about them that you don't already know?"

"Everyone has secrets. The Lunari are no exception. This is personal."

* * *

AN: I think I write solely to beat around a bush. I'm sorry. /facekeyboard


End file.
